great variety of shots including uphill, downhill, blind, and more. its quite challenging to keep par on 18 holes, but i likeit because it pushes me more than my regular course (juel park)

there usually are enough people there that youll always have others around you, and if you are playing after 3:30 or so you will for sure be waiting for groups ahead of you. try and come early

highly recommended to those in the greater
seattle area

Lakewood is located in a very beautiful park in Southwest Seattle. The local players take great care of this course in the midst of vandalism and trash leavers. The course is mainly open with lots of big lines - bring your imagination!

Deceptive holes - My favorite aspect of this course is how you are constantly thinking about ways to improve your average score on some of these holes. Ones that come to mind are 4, 13, 14, and 17. My first impression of how to play these holes is vastly different than the way I play them now and I expect will be revised in the future as well. There are also a few tricks out there such as the fence bounce hyzer on #3, the fence roller on #2 long, and generally using hillsides effectively (landing "above" the basket) on several other drives.

Multiple ways to approach several holes - Probably due to the openness of the park, there are often many ways to throw a particular hole which allows for different interpretation which is always cool. This becomes an even greater factor when the wind starts blowing as you may have to throw a different shot to minimize the wind.

Danger - Almost all of the holes out here have some form of OB danger which makes this course GREAT for tournament play. You have to stay focused the whole round to avoid it all.
Windy - Wind is usually present in some form and adds a fair amount of challenge to even some of the easier holes.

Aesthetics - The course is gorgeous with rolling hills and well maintained lawns. While there is a significant problem with graffiti and trash, golfers, the parks dept, and a neighborhood group "Friends of Hicks Lake" do a great job of keeping on top of things.

Some challenge in navigation - Not too much difficulty but there are some extra tee pads floating around out there and a couple of places where you will have to backtrack or will need to know where you are going (after holes 7, 11, 13, 16).

Shots are not extremely challenging - Its more about how many shots you can execute on a given day rather than learning new shots. There aren't many "technical" holes which require placement shots or a specific shaped shot - its usually open enough where you can stick with your strengths off the tee.

I'd say this course is the "sweetheart" of the Seattle courses - pretty much everyone enjoys playing here no matter what skill level.

My home digs are a testament of love, sweat, tears and I hope I don't sound too biased in my review as a result! The land that Lakewood sits on is gorgeous rolling grassy hills and a mix of Madrona and fir that shapes the fairways. The fairways play mostly open but require a mix of power and finesse, as there are many OB perils such as fences, roads, lakes and sidewalks that will penalize a poor shot. Scoring can sway both ways depending on how much game you bring. You can bring your longer drivers here, but also bring your accurate short range game as some pin placements can be testy on sloped ground.

Lots of hard work goes into this course, but sometimes it is destroyed by VANDALS who paint the benches, trees and tees signs. Many signs are in disrepair depending on which day you show up.

Trash is a constant problem with the course bordering a junior high and high school.

Navigation can be quite difficult so print a map (warning - holes 7-11 on this map have changed a little, so consult any existing signs!)

Some holes shoot blindly into others so proceed with caution!

If we are able to get some of the listed problems into check I think this course rates a solid 4-4.5!

Awesome long fairways with enough technicality and elevation to add variety and depth to the course layout. When I was there this morning they were mowing the grass and the park does a great job of maintaining this very large park. Trash bins and benches are available at almost every tee pad and the pads are cement. The locals are very nice. The pin locations are moved every once in a while to make the course play a little different but flow of the course and navigation are affected little. The course is challenging but not to the point where newer players will get frustrated. The view of Mt. Rainier is breath taking and there are a couple of holes you won't forget. There is some wind on this course sometimes that makes the round more challenging and fun but not too much to get you frustrated.

The course gets very busy during the summer months and the parking lot can fill up quite fast. The course is in a less than classy neighborhood and there is some vandalism. A sign or two pointing to the next tee pad would help out.

All in all one of the best courses in Washington state, if not the best course. The cons mentioned are very minor and don't distract you much from your round if at all. This is a great course for just about anyone and it is worth the drive from just about anywhere. They have a random doubles tournament on Thursday night.

***UPDATE***

The reconfiguration is underway and already a couple of hoes had to be moved and the course flow has suffered and there are some long walkouts now so I'm going from 4 to 3.5 stars.

Open course, good for learning the basics. Challenge comes in the distance and the hazards.

Random people everywhere. I do not know what I was thinking it is a county park, but seriously though the park gets a lot of use so be mindful of kids and adults running around randomly.

Overall good course, but that is b/c I feel it plays into my strong points.

This is a great course. Make holes have alternative baskets to them. The course is pretty well mapped out on each tee. Good short, medium, and long shots. Course is on a pretty public park.

Public park so be careful with people are are just screwing around and throwing things before you leave the hole. Also, be aware of unleashed dogs that can and will take your dics.

My wife and I really enjoyed this course.

This large neighborhood park has room for 18 holes with space to spare. The course is mainly grass meadows and lawns which is a refreshing alternative to many of the tree heavy courses in the pacific NW. A pretty hole throws over a creek and another next to a pond.

Much of the signage is vandalized or missing. A tee next to a residential area was covered in broken glass and there were beer bottles everywhere. This could be a park that gets some vandals and partiers coming in from the neighborhood. That being said, I haven't really seen anyone causing problems myself.

The basket placement on 18 just seems goofy. It is right in the middle of a parking island. I wonder how many cars have been dinged by errant throws.

I would rate holes 12-16 4 stars and the rest of the course 3 so I gave it 3 ½. Some of the course seems a little beat and ragged and the rest is really nice. There are several holes I like. Some good elevation change and some nice long throws. Although the course is pretty open there are definitely trees that come into play.

When I play the course I am certain that a few of the holes seem like they play right into each other. I have asked some regulars about that and they say they have never seen any problems with it. That and the few holes that throw across a road or parking lot probably look worse than they really are. I think it would have to be pretty crowded before it becomes a problem.

The course layout changed recently around holes 7-11. If you are going off an old map you might get confused.

Lakewood DGC is truely a complete and wonderful experience. This course provides all the elements including several elevation changes, rolling hills, man-made ponds, and a running stream. This course is a mix of open and densely populated forested holes. In turn this allows you to work on big powerful drives, accurate fairway upshots, and big long putts. Holes 4 and 12 stand out the most to me because they combine a lot of the elements and truely represent what discgolf is all about.

The only cons are one, at times the course can be really congested (especially around the ball field and basketball courts). And two, the course tends to get a lot of vandalism and trash. However, it is apparent that the locals work really hard to keep this little paradise clean but the amount of foot traffic seems to out-weigh their efforts.

I have always felt that this was south seattle's best course. Even though I really like SeaTac, I feel that this course caters more to the advanced player. SeaTac, although amazing, to me still seems built for the pro's. However, both are unique unto themselves and are both worth the trip. The good news is that they are right down the road from each other. Lakewood DGC is just less frustrating.