The Lake Helen Recreation Area is just a short distance from I-80. The very large park is totally flat (Can you say Nebraska?) with some scattered trees. These trees are used very well on this course. There are no tee pads so you're just teeing off next to the signs. The signs are just small, basic ones showing the hole #, par and distance. With the extra big hole #'s, they're easy to spot from long distances. The baskets are the DGA models with the hard to read red numbers. The first hole starts right beside the restrooms as you enter the park. It's long and fairly ho-hum.

The course is fairly long averaging just under 300'. I liked # 3 a lot. It's the shortest hole here at just 223' but has a big, beautiful tree right in the middle of your throw with lots of branches hanging down. So that makes it a perfect hole to throw your roller on. But beware of the canal on the right is close enough that the wind might play havoc if it catches your roller just right.

# 8 is a cool hole with overhanging branches forcing you to keep your drive low and hard.

The # 7 sign was lying on the ground.

# 9 is just an wide open, boring hole. 350' across an expanse of lawn. There must have been a more interesting option here.

This course is a little too open for my tastes. With my weanie arm, open courses with length are not my friend. Most players will enjoy the openness of this course more. I think the wind is a normal occurance here. It played havoc with some of my throws putting was even more of an adventure than usual.

-Nice baskets
-This park had playgrounds, water, bathrooms, shelters, etc so you could have a picnic and enjoy the outdoors. None of that looks like it should interfere with disc golf at all.
-Easy to follow.
-Signage was good enough.
-Decent distance, you can air it out on most holes.

-It was pretty open and most of the shots weren't overly interesting. The first one was the longest at over 400. Most of the trees are really small and easy to throw around or over.
-You probably could find water with your disc if it was windy or if you had a really bad shot.
-Very flat course.
-Goose poop- enough said.
-Auto sprinklers got me!
-Natural pads, not really a problem just not concrete.

This course isn't too bad. The designers did a good job for what they were given. This course is much more enjoyable than the other 3 courses located between Kearney and Grand Island. I wouldn't especially encourage or discourage a stop at this course. It's alright.

Nothing new to say from previous reviews. I would like to add the first hole tee "post" is right beside the restrooms when you enter the park. Play is easy to follow. If you have a pet the park is pretty empty and no one said anything to us with our well behaved dog off the leash.

No tee boxes just a post with the hole number on it. The grass was freshly mowed, but had been left in rows like fresh cut hay. This gave the billions of gnats a place to hang out until you disturbed them. Then it got quite thick with them.

This is a great 9 hole course for anyone to stop and play. Don't expect terrain changes, the course is flat. The trees and basket placement make the course fun.

Excellent course to introduce new players.
Good flow counter clockwise around lake mostly along walking trail.
Average hole distance 297ft (223-230=3, 280-303=3, 327-350=2, 450=1)
Several holes are very different if played from left or right side of tee post.
4 is a cute 300ft hole with the basket between 2 trees. A tiny bit of risk with water on and higher grass. 6 was a fun little hole 303 with lots of low obstacles, but no ceiling.
Intermediate players can make numerous mistakes and still shoot under par (27).
Travelers can play and be back on the highway in well under 30 minutes

No tee pads, just posts holding the hole number and distance only.
Very little challenge, An experienced player could get bored with this 9 hole course very quickly.
Smell off the stagnant drained lake was horrible.

Course starts with its only 400+ foot hole, which is a little odd.
I played a dozen Nebraska courses in the area and this was one of the better 9 holers, but it is too short, too easy, no tee pads, no elevation, and only 9 holes so it is not a highly rated course, but worth a stop.

Variety of hole lengths, first hole is 400+. Some technical aspects. You get air out your disc on some holes, but then be very technical on others. This is a good beginner to intermediate course.

No concrete teepads. There are usually people walking around the lake and park which intersects with the course, so often times you have to watch out for them. Most people have no idea what the disc golf course or baskets even are in this town, so you might have to have some conversations with people and show them what it is while you are there. They also have automatic sprinklers that come on which are in the heart of every hole. I've played when they were on and had to do some dodging and weaving, but i thought it made it fun haha.

Its great that they have a course like this in the small town of Gothenburg, NE. Its always fairly quiet and not busy when i have played it. Good spot to come and bring new players.

The basics for a decent round are all here. Tee poles with distances marked on them, nice new baskets, and enough land so that there is honest length, which is sometimes rare for these mid-Nebraska nine hole courses. There is no need for a map, a golfer can easily find the next tee pole and the course begins and ends in the same area. There is also no multi use park interference so a player will most likely not have to worry about non golfers. The Lake is home to hundreds of geese. There are restrooms at the picnic area right near the start and finish. There are a handful good areas to get your disc wet if you lose control. Plenty of parking. The course does find it way to the few mature trees along the way. The course was very easy to find. The holes all face in multiple directions, so if its windy you'll get different looks when you turn for the next hole.

Long story short, this course is easy to follow along with good hole lengths.

Many of the trees along the course are just babies. There is no elevation change. Most of the course is wide open so I only carried one disc. The tee areas are dirt and there is only the one pin position per hole. These are all simple cons that can change over time.

When I played it was very windy and cold and I still enjoyed myself. The description was correct, I did have the course all to myself. It was a very quick run through. Whomever is responsible for getting this course in the ground did a thorough job with design and length making sure to not have course interference and deserves kudos for their efforts.