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Lincoln Lake DGC reviews
10
0
Camp Disc Golf! 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Apr 10, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
Lincoln Lake DGC is an 18-holer that plays around a youth camp located about a half hour's drive northeast of Grand Rapids, MI. It looks like this place has been around for 4-5 years, but had not yet been added to DGCR. Sounded like a great mission for a beautiful Sunday afternoon in early April. 
When I arrived to investigate, I found a solid round of disc golf! The variety here was quite good. Hole distances ranged from 157' to 672', with three par 4s in the mix. There were several tight throws through the woods, wide open shots to test your distance, and everything in between. Rolling terrain is used well to create additional challenge, particularly in a large area on the southern side of camp where holes 6-14 play.
A couple of holes that stood out to me:
- Hole 9: Plays in a low-lying area at the back of the course. It's a 394' sweeping left turn that goes over a ridge, with increasing tree trunks as you approach the basket. Tough par 3.
- Hole 11: Probably the closest thing to a signature hole on this course. This one plays 415' over a smaller ridge on a fairway with scattered trees and shrubs. The basket is raised, mounted to a tire, and guarded by a fence decorated with the camp logo.
- Hole 18: The finishing hole plays 225' uphill, with two trees forming a double mando about 175' off the tee (for those who have played Brewer Park - sort of like the double mando hole there, but this one plays uphill instead of downhill). It doesn't look too difficult to hit, but that's what I thought too and proceeded to miss it and end my round with a bogey.
The tee signs were mounted to wood posts and have all the info you would expect - a color map of the hole, hole number, par, and hole description. Mandos are also clearly marked, where present.
The tee pads are large rectangular pieces of turf set on top of wood frames. Concrete is generally my preference, but I thought these were large, level, and grippy enough. A couple of the early holes had pads that seemed older and of lower quality, but from chatting with an employee (possibly the owner?) I learned that these pads will soon be refreshed to match the later ones.
Navigational signage is decent. There were many arrows hanging off the bottom of baskets and pinned to trees that were intended to point towards the next tee. However, some of these were broken when I played and there are a couple places where I could have used more direction. In particular, after hole 5 you can either cross the drive, walk back towards the road a bit, then around the far side of the building for hole 6's tee - or if you want to play only 9 holes, there is a trail to cut off to hole 15's tee. This spot could use some detailed signage. Other than that, the course flows pretty well and the 9-hole option is nice!
When I arrived to investigate, I found a solid round of disc golf! The variety here was quite good. Hole distances ranged from 157' to 672', with three par 4s in the mix. There were several tight throws through the woods, wide open shots to test your distance, and everything in between. Rolling terrain is used well to create additional challenge, particularly in a large area on the southern side of camp where holes 6-14 play.
A couple of holes that stood out to me:
- Hole 9: Plays in a low-lying area at the back of the course. It's a 394' sweeping left turn that goes over a ridge, with increasing tree trunks as you approach the basket. Tough par 3.
- Hole 11: Probably the closest thing to a signature hole on this course. This one plays 415' over a smaller ridge on a fairway with scattered trees and shrubs. The basket is raised, mounted to a tire, and guarded by a fence decorated with the camp logo.
- Hole 18: The finishing hole plays 225' uphill, with two trees forming a double mando about 175' off the tee (for those who have played Brewer Park - sort of like the double mando hole there, but this one plays uphill instead of downhill). It doesn't look too difficult to hit, but that's what I thought too and proceeded to miss it and end my round with a bogey.
The tee signs were mounted to wood posts and have all the info you would expect - a color map of the hole, hole number, par, and hole description. Mandos are also clearly marked, where present.
The tee pads are large rectangular pieces of turf set on top of wood frames. Concrete is generally my preference, but I thought these were large, level, and grippy enough. A couple of the early holes had pads that seemed older and of lower quality, but from chatting with an employee (possibly the owner?) I learned that these pads will soon be refreshed to match the later ones.
Navigational signage is decent. There were many arrows hanging off the bottom of baskets and pinned to trees that were intended to point towards the next tee. However, some of these were broken when I played and there are a couple places where I could have used more direction. In particular, after hole 5 you can either cross the drive, walk back towards the road a bit, then around the far side of the building for hole 6's tee - or if you want to play only 9 holes, there is a trail to cut off to hole 15's tee. This spot could use some detailed signage. Other than that, the course flows pretty well and the 9-hole option is nice!
Cons:
I noted a couple of safety issues here. The worst one for me was hole 16. It plays 350' down a significant slope, with the fairway in a tunnel of trees off the tee but then giving way to an open field. The problem I have is, down in that open field is hole 2's tee and hole 1's basket. They are maybe 50' behind the basket in question, but this seems easily reachable for bigger arms or on a windy day. Other smaller safety concerns were a couple of holes playing over driveways or close together, and one hole (#4) playing within an errant throw of the busy road you drove in on.
The current baskets as of my play were MVP Black Hole models. These seemed to be pretty old and I had a couple putts hit the chains and not drop that I thought should have. The good news is, the same employee mentioned that all new Chainstar Pros are coming this spring so that should alleviate this concern!
The other thing I want to note about the baskets is that as of now, there are somewhere between 6-9ish elevated baskets on the 18-hole course (depending on your definition of "elevated"). Some may enjoy this added challenge on that consistent of a basis. Personally, I thought it was a little much. But this is only a minor quibble, at worst.
There was no practice basket, although you can easily see hole 18's tee from the basket so you could use it to warm up if no one is trying to throw the hole. I did not see a kiosk or porta potty either, although I did not try to enter the office which may have had both those amenities taken care of.
Trash cans and benches are also missing.
There aren't any water hazards on the course, but a couple of holes were holding water when I played. Hole 17 was the worst offender, as it plays across the camp lawn near the lake. Again - this isn't a "water hole", but it was basically a puddle when I played and I would think after any good rain it would be similar. This hole was also pretty boring - it's the longest hole here by a wide margin at 672', but it's flat and there are zero obstacles to work around. A couple of other holes near the beginning and end of the course also have few to no obstacles.
While there are several nice holes here, none stood out as particularly memorable. The closest was maybe #11 with the camp logo on the wall guarding the basket.
The current baskets as of my play were MVP Black Hole models. These seemed to be pretty old and I had a couple putts hit the chains and not drop that I thought should have. The good news is, the same employee mentioned that all new Chainstar Pros are coming this spring so that should alleviate this concern!
The other thing I want to note about the baskets is that as of now, there are somewhere between 6-9ish elevated baskets on the 18-hole course (depending on your definition of "elevated"). Some may enjoy this added challenge on that consistent of a basis. Personally, I thought it was a little much. But this is only a minor quibble, at worst.
There was no practice basket, although you can easily see hole 18's tee from the basket so you could use it to warm up if no one is trying to throw the hole. I did not see a kiosk or porta potty either, although I did not try to enter the office which may have had both those amenities taken care of.
Trash cans and benches are also missing.
There aren't any water hazards on the course, but a couple of holes were holding water when I played. Hole 17 was the worst offender, as it plays across the camp lawn near the lake. Again - this isn't a "water hole", but it was basically a puddle when I played and I would think after any good rain it would be similar. This hole was also pretty boring - it's the longest hole here by a wide margin at 672', but it's flat and there are zero obstacles to work around. A couple of other holes near the beginning and end of the course also have few to no obstacles.
While there are several nice holes here, none stood out as particularly memorable. The closest was maybe #11 with the camp logo on the wall guarding the basket.
Other Thoughts:
On hole 7 it is easy to throw towards the wrong basket. The basket you see down in the valley is for another hole. #7's basket is tucked off to the right, closer to you.
When approaching the course, use the north entrance of the camp. Google Maps told me to come in the south entrance, but there is not actually a thru drive there. And once you park, you need to walk towards the lake around the back of the lodge building to find the first tee.
Overall this is a solid course, with plans apparently already in place to address some of the Cons I listed. If and when that happens, my rating could definitely go up to a 3.5. It's a little unfortunate that most of the worst holes here are right at the beginning and end (those first and last impressions often stick in people's minds), as there are some great holes in the middle of the course.
I don't think this could ever be a destination-level course, but it certainly makes a day trip to the area northeast of Grand Rapids a little bit more compelling. If you are in the area and have already played Tower Park, this place is worth a stop!
When approaching the course, use the north entrance of the camp. Google Maps told me to come in the south entrance, but there is not actually a thru drive there. And once you park, you need to walk towards the lake around the back of the lodge building to find the first tee.
Overall this is a solid course, with plans apparently already in place to address some of the Cons I listed. If and when that happens, my rating could definitely go up to a 3.5. It's a little unfortunate that most of the worst holes here are right at the beginning and end (those first and last impressions often stick in people's minds), as there are some great holes in the middle of the course.
I don't think this could ever be a destination-level course, but it certainly makes a day trip to the area northeast of Grand Rapids a little bit more compelling. If you are in the area and have already played Tower Park, this place is worth a stop!
