Pros:
- 9 well mounted DISCatcher 28's.
- 9 framed in tee boxes with rubber fly pads.
- Nice tee signs at every hole that contain the hole distance. They felt very accurate.
- Some good use of the land's available elevation. If there was a nice little mini TOTW shot it would have everything.
- Good mix of trees and open holes. First half of the course is mostly open and then the final 4 holes play through a more wooded section adding to the technical challenge.
- Holes 6, 7, and 9 are really nice. Cool tunnels and gaps through the trees to mildly guarded greens. Loved these holes.
- Great hole lengths for a school/beginner type course. Holes range from 150' to 250'.
- While there was no map at the course, navagation was rather intuitive. Not perfect, but I had no trouble finding my way through unassisted.
- There are nice views down and around the Bitterroot Valley from numerous locations on the course.
- The area the course plays through is disc golf specific.
- Free to play.
Cons:
- No course map or directional signs. As I mentioned, navagation was fairly easy. However, for courses targeted at beginners, the more help they have to make their round easy and enjoyable the better.
- A few of the tee boxes were framed up leaning with the slope of the hill they're on.
- The front half of the course is a touch bland, specifically holes 3 through 5. 3 & 4 have litterally zero trees in play. Not much need to shape any shots through this section.
- Kind of a weird disconnect between 8 and 9. You basically have to walk the whole length of hole 8 to get back to 9's tee.
- A good amount of elevation is in play but despite having some uphill holes and walks, there aren't any really downhill holes. Seems like making this a 10 hole course where hole 8 plays uphill would allow for a mini TOTW shot that brought you right to 9's(would be hole 10 at this point) tee box would be quite feasible. This would also eliminate playing the current hole 8 and walking right back down the fairway to 9's tee. Kind of picking nits here but food for thought.
Other Thoughts:
This is a great example of a well thought out and implemented school course. It was a pleasent surprise to find the course in its own seperate area without any conflicts. Not sure I've actually played a school course wihtout user conflicts before this one so kudos to the school and designer. Not the most exciting golf but for the target skill level I feel they nailed it. Part of the land is pretty blah but the latter half of the course really shines with some fun and challenging, albeit short, throws. There could be a few improvements from an infrastructure standpoint but what exists is more than adequate. Despite really being geared toward beginners and having a few fairly blah holes, I think most golfers would enjoy this course. Right off the main road/highway through the town of Lolo, this is an easy to acccess, quick, and entertaining spin that I'll be likely to play anytime I'm back in the area.