- high quality Dynamic Discs Veteran baskets
- dual baskets with red and blue colored bands
- dual concrete tees are large and level
- great tee signs indicating tee you are at, maps, and other info
- baskets have great visibility from a distance
- well manicured course
- area devoted entirely to disc golf
- good mix of moderately wooded and more open holes
- excellent variety of hole lengths
- mixture of more flat areas, moderate elevation change, and significant elevation change at the end
- great large course map signs at beginning of course and at points throughout course
- practice basket
- next tee indicators on most baskets
- flow and navigation between holes is short/logical
- some benches and garbage cans throughout course
- hole numbers on baskets
- small parking area specifically for disc golf course
- monster of a course with 27 total holes
- lots of play options for all skill levels with dual tees/dual baskets
- fantastic views of Lake Michigan at start of hole 24

- last 4 holes are underwhelming unless you like ski hill throws
- really long walks between 23-24 and at end of course
- likely to deal with major wind challenges on last 4 holes
- nit picking, but some of the 24-27 tees are natural so as not to interfere with ski hill use in winter

North Bluff is a really cool course to experience and exceeded my expectations for the UP. Once again, I struggled to come up with cons here. Most details are covered at this long, excellent course. I'll say upfront I was not a fan of the last 4 holes which incorporate the biggest elevation change - usually good - but are wide open throwing around the ski hill which is not my cup of tea. The views here are breathtaking, but I felt these holes just didn't fit with the style of the rest of the course. Still, this course is probably around a 4.25 in my head.

Upon arriving at North Bluff, you'll be greeted by a North Bluff Disc Golf sign on a large slab of rock which is really cool. All the equipment here is top notch, with dual Dynamic baskets on each hole which are color coded, dual concrete tees, and great maps/tee signs at each tee which show all necessary details. Not every basket has a next tee indicator; they are usually on the blues since they are further on than the reds, but where necessary for clarity there are next tee arrows on both. This made most navigation very straightforward. The course sign also has an excellent map.

There are garbage cans and benches on the course and a practice basket and decent parking area at the start of the course. It would be nice if there was a bathroom, but that's about the only thing missing and there is probably one somewhere else in the park.

The course starts out feeling pretty flat but definitely incorporates some elevation change in places throughout the course. With 27 holes, there is a lot of variety here. There are some pretty open holes with prairie plants which are not the most fun if you end up off the fairway, but most of the course is lightly to moderately wooded. It never really feels like dense woods and there's always a decent amount of visibility around you. For the most part, I didn't note major safety hazards here, though the holes play back to back in some places so you may not want to linger starting the next hole.

There are a huge variety of hole lengths and shot types here, and the course does a pretty good job of not feeling repetitive. Even with 27 holes I think a solo round could be completed in close to an hour and a half if you keep moving.

There are some birdie opportunities on this course but you'll have to fight for them. I ended up coming away with only 2 birdies though that was in large part due to missing putts. The course is far from punishing but has the length and technical lines to challenge you moderately. For most of the course, the rough is very light or nonexistent, but on the prairie holes it can be pretty brutal.

Overall, this is probably one of the most diverse courses I've played in the UP. I think Tailings is still my favorite, but in terms of equipment, maintenance, and variety, I don't think many can compete with North Bluff. If you are near Gladstone/Escanaba you should absolutely check this course out. If you're into ice cream, Gladstone Dairy Flo nearby is really cool too, and their burgers are not bad either.

North Bluff is a 27-hole course near Escanaba, MI. As I pulled into the parking area, the first thing I saw was a 3-4 foot tall rock set into a manicured pile of gravel. Attached to the rock were large black letters that read "NORTH BLUFF DISC GOLF COURSE". This really set the tone for the type of course that I was about to experience. I continued around the corner in my car and parked near the ball fields.

Behind the rock (which upon further reflection, I think may actually be a repurposed slab of scrap concrete) is the disc golf staging area. This is complete with two practice baskets, a picnic table, and one of the nicer kiosks I have seen. Besides the usual notices and rules of disc golf it has a huge, color course map overlaid on a satellite photo of the park. The whole thing is under a sturdy looking roof structure that also covers the picnic table.

Onto the actual course. This course offers two tee pads and two baskets per hole, arranged to create four layouts of varying difficulty. This review is (unfortunately) based on only a single round from the long tees to the short baskets (and a year later, a second round from the short tees to the long baskets). The long to short and short to long layouts will provide two different solid challenges for most disc golfers, with hole distances averaging around 350'. The short to short layout is still nothing to sneeze at, but I think it would be approachable for newer players. The long to long layout plays at championship level, with five par 4s sprinkled throughout the round.

There is a great variety of holes here. The first twelve holes play through a mixed age deciduous forest. The fairways are narrow enough to force shot shaping, but usually relatively wide by Michigan "woods course" standards. Definitely wider on average than Pioneer Trails down the road. There are obvious multiple lines to the basket on many holes. A highlight in this part of the course is hole 10, which is a longer one with a relatively straight fairway that plays down a valley and back up the opposite side. If playing the long tees, there is a large drainage pond off to the left that could come into play on a poor throw or unfortunate tree kick (it was mostly dried up when I visited in late summer/early fall).

Holes 13-18 are mostly more open, with only a few trees to work around on each. These fairways are cut into grassy fields, with taller grass lurking in the rough. I particularly liked hole 15, which is a sweeping right turn in another gentle valley. Holes 19-23 are more technical again and carved out of a different wooded area that has more conifers.

The infrastructure on the course is on par with what is at the staging area. The baskets are Dynamic Discs Veteran models. The short basket on each hole is painted red and the long is painted blue. These baskets were still in like-new condition when I visited. Both tee pads on each hole are large trapezoid-shaped pieces of concrete - also in perfect shape. There is even another sheltered kiosk in the middle of the course near hole 8's tee. It's as if the course designer hit some magical "copy + paste" command that duplicated the kiosk from the front of the course into the middle of the woods.

The tee signs are absolutely beautiful. They are huge, high quality, and have all of the info needed including distance to each pin from the current tee and a large color-coded hole number. The long tee signs are blue and the shorts are red. Some of the tee signs also mention OB areas. Many of these signs are mounted to smaller pieces of whatever rock/concrete chunk material the course sign is.

Navigation is pretty easy overall. The main navigational aids are white metal arrows mounted in the bottom of many baskets. I have seen these a couple times and like them.

Trash cans and benches are located periodically around the course. Many of the "benches" are actually more of the rocks/concrete chunks that are sitting flat on the ground. There are flush toilets near the parking lot along with a drinking fountain.

This may or may not help you, but when playing the first 23 holes here I was reminded of the Renegade's Trail (Devil's Den) course at Burchfield Park near Lansing. North Bluff is overall more wooded than Renegade's Trail, but the lines aren't really that tight and otherwise it felt kind of similar - four layouts with great hole design, gentle elevation changes, and outstanding course amenities.

But then here at North Bluff we also have holes 24-27. These holes are located across the street from the rest of the course, and it's a bit of a walk to get to them (you can actually head back to your car and move it to a separate lot on the other side if you want). To say that these holes are a little different than #1-23 would be the understatement of the century. I stepped up to #24 tee and my jaw dropped. This tee is located at the top of a huge ski hill with a wide field of view cleared. In the background a couple miles away is Little Bay de Noc. Way down the wide open ski hill and partially up a smaller slope in the middle of it sits the two baskets. THIS is the ski hill bomber hole you have been looking for.

But wait, there's more. Hole 25 starts at the top of that smaller ridge and plays the rest of the way down the hill. It's even steeper than the slope on the previous hole. However, from the longs there is a relatively narrow gap to hit off the tee. After shanking my first drive, I decided to throw a second attempt with my Teebird3. I hit the line perfectly and watched my disc sail away into the distance down the hill. The hole is listed at 420' for the layout I played. I found my disc some 125'-150' PAST the basket. By far the furthest my noodle arm has ever thrown a disc.

The remaining two holes do not disappoint either. #26 has a pond in play (on a ski hill!) Depending on the layout you play and how you approach the hole, you will be looking at either carefully navigating around the right side of the pond, or trying to throw over it. The finishing hole plays part of the way back up the hill. These last four holes are both epic on their own, and add to the variety of the overall course by offering something completely different. They also have the same high-quality infrastructure as the rest of the course.

The first 23 holes are not perfectly flat, but the elevation changes throughout this part of the course are mostly not significant enough to really affect play. There is nothing wrong with any of the holes and the variety is great, but most of them are not necessarily memorable either. More a limitation of the land available than anything.

When I visited, many of the red baskets I played to did not have the white arrow pointing to the next hole. It usually wasn't an issue, but there were a couple of spots where no arrow was present and I wasn't 100% sure where to go next. On these occasions, I walked up to the blue basket and there was always an arrow there plus the path away from the blue basket seemed a little more heavily travelled. There are also a couple of longish walks between holes later in the course where I could have used a couple more arrows, although the paths were well groomed when I visited. It would be nice if there was a sign after hole 23 letting me know that I can choose to cut back to the parking lot to skip the last four holes (or that I HAVE to do this in the winter, or that I can drive over to them). I know that there are other considerations in play on the ski hill, but a couple extra arrows on those holes would also be nice. I saw hole 26's tee pad down the hill from #24's basket before I saw #25's pad part way back UP the hill. It would have sucked to walk all the way down to #26's pad only to realize I had skipped a hole and needed to hike all the way back up.

The tee pads for hole 27 are natural, but I think that is because they are located within the preferred route down the ski hill. The tee areas for this finishing hole are still well marked and have the same signage as the rest of the course.

There are ORV trails near some holes. Just listen for them and you should be able to avoid a potential safety hazard.

The ski hill holes 24-27 are closed in the winter.

This course is free to play, somehow. I would happily pay $5 to play a round here.

It took me about 2.5 hours to play this course solo, and I pretty much had it to myself.

If it's not obvious by now, this course honestly blew me away. I played it near the end of a 11-day trip during which I tried (and ultimately failed) to finish playing every course in the UP, and also hit Highbridge Hills and Sandy Point in northern Wisconsin. North Bluff is a different experience than either of those well-known Wisconsin destinations, but just as good. Yet this course seems to be flying way, way under the radar on DGCR. I mean - before my visit, there was no hole info here, only one photo, and no discussion in the forums that I saw. So I guess the difference between this place and other great courses I have experienced was that I wasn't really expecting much when I arrived here. I was just thinking that I'm bagging the last Escanaba area course I hadn't played. But when I re-read the previous reviews and did a little digging afterwards, the small signs were there. Mushin named it as one of the best Michigan courses north of US-10 (which for those unfamiliar, basically bisects the LOWER peninsula). UDisc has this course slotting in at #2 in the state, behind only Flip City. It is really, really difficult for me to say that this is the best course in the UP - there are 6-8 really good ones UP here that I love - but the fact is this is the only one I have rated a 4.5 or higher.

This course is a must-play and a strong 4.5. The only thing that is really missing here and holding me back from a 5.0 rating is significant elevation change/wow factor on the first 23 holes. And I guess a couple more arrows.

My only regrets about playing this course are that 1) I did not make it my 150th course played (it was #149 and I would hit #150 at a church 9er near Marquette the next morning), and 2) I did not have time to play a second round. But that's what return visits are for. Come visit the UP. And while you are here, come play North Bluff DGC. It is not to be missed.

UPDATE August 2023: I visited the course again yesterday and not much has really changed, including my feelings. The only thing I'd really add is that there actually IS some appreciable elevation change on a few of the earlier holes. It just feels puny after you play #24-27. Also, disc loss is definitely possible on #25. The ski hill itself is mowed enough that you'll probably find any discs that land within it - but with such a huge downhill, discs that start fading to the left can end up several hundred feet off course in a low-lying wooded area with thick, thick grass and weeds on the ground. I stomped around for about 20 minutes and found two other discs, but not my own. I also threw one in the pond on #26, but fortunately I was able to retrieve it. The pond had some pretty tall weeds growing right around it in the summer, making the carry a lot more difficult. Working around it is a more realistic option at this time of year. Overall, this is a strong 4.5 for sure.

One of the best courses ive ever played. challenging but fair. definitely recommend. woods course and very well maintained. designed by Eric Mccabe so the layout is incredible to say the least

none

Not a lot of courses in the area but if you are ever in the area, definitely need to check it out.

Gladstone is on the Little Bay de Noc, which opens onto Green Bay on Lake Michigan

North Bluff DGC resides on a Bluff overlooking the Little Bay de Noc

Course mostly plays on Top, back in around Wooded areas, and adds Four Seasonal Holes out on the Sledding Hill

Massive 'Stone Sign' by Lot
Course Map Koisk, Two practice Baskets, and Hole 1 are found Here

Classic DD Design
Integrating Large Rocks with Teesigns, Benches, and Path markers

Played numerous Dynamic Disc courses before, but not sure if EMac Designed those or not. Nevertheless, if you're at a Dynamic Installation, you're in for a Great round of Discgolf

Superb Design, using the Two Tees Two Baskets model, to offer Four different Layouts. Red to Red and Blue to Blue feel like 2 different courses, even though you're sharing the same Fairways

There's a Ski/Sled Hillside, a Pine and Oak mixed area, a Lightly Wooded Section, and a fantastic Wooded Centerpiece of small undulating Mounds Hills and Valleys... Emac used it all Masterfully to create a Fun, Challenging, and most definitely Replayable DGC

The main central Woods section is mostly Juvenile Poplars. Along with a great mix of Pines, Cedars, Oaks, and other Deciduous Trees.
Moderate undulating Elevation changes, on small Till Mounds of Sand n Stone
The most varying elevation seemed to be in here around Holes 3-15

3 is a standout hole, and the first with elevation really effecting play. Elevated Tees, Red Basket on a Ledge, and the Blue Basket down across the small Valley

Nice Pines guarding 4s Greens

7 8 & 9 use the subtle elevation to great effect, for both Tees and Greens

10 is maybe the best Hole at North Bluff!?! With the 'Pondy' part of the Quarry to the Left, the Blue Tee throws across a sandy Valley to the biggest Ridge mass out there, with the Baskets perched up on top

11 is an interesting 'Double Charlotte' hole. Each Basket position has an Island of Poplars infront and you can choose going around numerous ways

12 Tees from the same Ridge that 10s Baskets reside on. Sweet elevated Tees, with a couple interesting Fairway options... and then the Baskets are on an old Fill Mound, making the Green a challenge, and giving it a rememberable look

13s Red Basket is tucked near a Dropoff at the Quarries Edge, but you have to park that Drive!

16 17 & 18 are out in the Open more. Visually appealing Holes out here, with older growth Trees involved in around Fairways, and even more so around the Greens

21 22 & 23 use some subtle elevation, and have a nice mix of Poplar Oak n Pine

View is pretty great from Hole 24! Similar to Silver Mountain, Avalanche Preserve, Hickory Hills

24 & 25 are top of the world ace run type Holes

Juvenile Poplars create Jail on sooo much of the course, 1-15. A Stick equals a Stroke out here, basically

No Signature Hole or Landscape features to make North Bluff standout as being the best of the best

Disc eating Pond on 26

While the Hill Holes have that great view, the golf is more of a Chore than Fun... especially 27 going back up at the end

Misthrows could land down in that Abandoned Quarry around holes 10 12 13 & 14

Summertime would not be the ideal time to throw here. We played well before the Trees Leafed, and searching out the Lines was challenging still

Par 4 starting Hole lets you know what you're in for at this DGC. Playing the Longs is gonna be a Commitment, a commitment you may want to think twice about

Been here twice during Springtime. Played Dubs Blue/Red a couple years ago. Played Singles Blue/Blue then Dubs Red/Red 2021
Played Blue to Blue, Oct 21

Besides old Hickory Hills, Grayling, Al Quaal, Keyes Peak, and the Tailings... North Bluff is the best Dgc I've played North of Hwy 10 in both the Michigans

- Two large concrete tees and two Veteran baskets that never move (no figuring out what pin position you're throwing to) on each hole.
- The different layouts provide genuinely different experiences. The red layout is great for a quick round or introducing people to the sport while not being to boring and the blue layout is challenging. Champ level challenging. The layouts in between (blue to red or red to blue) provide a great experience for intermediate - advanced players.
- The course is generally pretty quiet. No long wait times.
- North Bluff in general is a pretty place, especially so in the fall.
- Garbage cans are plentiful.
- Variety of wooded holes and holes you can let er rip on.
- I have never been confused on where the next tee is. There are arrows on the blue baskets and the course flows pretty logically. I am not certain how some people felt lost.

- Doesn't have the facilities that some other courses have: no pro shop (but do check out the Beaten Path in Escanaba! That might as well be the pro shop for this course) and no bathrooms on the course.
- The course is built on what used to be a dump. Sometimes glass or other garbage will show up. It never takes away from the actual disc golf, though.
- Overall, most cons of this course (including the previoud point) can be chalked up to the fact that this course is still in its infancy. Complaints such as rough rough or 19-27 still being very raw are related to the fact that this course is literally only a couple years old in a town of 5000 people. It still has a ton of growing to do though and I think that while the complaints (garbage from the dump, rough off the fairway, not as clear of paths between holes) will only get better with time.

This course is criminally underrated here on DGCR. The UDisc rating for this course is much more accurate, in my opinion (4.5 stars). I play a lot of courses in the Milwaukee and Green Bay area and this course is by far top 5. Better than the Milwaukee area courses for sure and, in my humble opinion, only lacks the amenities of Rollin Ridge. The actual disc golf (the lines and especially the replay-ability) exceeds Rollin Ridge barely and is significantly better than Silver Creek in Manitowoc.

- professional design
- multiple baskets/tees allow for lots of options
- some good par 4s and mix of open/wooded
- lines are fair
- threw equal RHBH and RHFH off tee
- understory is beautiful
- new tee pads, signs, baskets (can tell an investment was made in this course)
- nice amenities at park, course was not busy
- maintained fairly well, some fairways were a little shaggy but it was the height of growing season

- Course Flow (there is a next tee stock arrow on blue basket, but) This could be easily improved with some small signs or as this gets more use paths will become more visible. Honestly I'm surprised Dynamic doesn't have a next tee indication on their nice tee signs.

- holes 19-23 felt like a bit of an add on to the course (I'll be honest didn't play the ski hill holes)

What a gem, will definitely be stopping in to play anytime I head up to the UP. Would love to play a tournament here.

It has 2 baskets and 2 tees for every hole

It is a long walk to get to the place. There is no signage telling you it's there. No parking next to the course because of the baseball diamonds. No signage to tell you where the first hole even was. There are not 27 holes only 23(will change course info when done with this.) They must never cut their grass because I see roughs that are worse than this. There is garbage everywhere. I was more interested in the weird stuff we found more than the course. Someone needs to start taking care of this course. It was awful.

I might have a slight bias because this was a big trip for me and my friends. We traveled from Green Bay Wisconsin just to be horribly disappointed. We went to another course because this one was so bad.

Very nice, highly visible baskets
Fabulous signage, I really liked that each tee has a unique sign with all the info for that tee and both baskets.
Four possible playing options for each hole.
Good concrete tee-pads.
Course is easy to follow, a good path leads from each blue basket to the next tees.
Nice mix of wooded and open shots.
Very nice seats made of LARGE rocks.

It's just a personal thing I guess, but I hate when a course starts with one of /the longest hole, maybe I need to warm up more.
The tiny flies are bad.
No signage at road showing there is a DG course there.

I fully expected to find the course to be a series of tunnel woods shots, I was pleasantly surprised to find far fewer trees in my way than many courses in Texas.
A very nice addition to U.P. disc golf

Disclaimer: Giving an in depth hole by hole review is especially ambitious with four possible layouts on each hole. This review will give a sense of the course as a whole, but cannot cover everything for each layout. I am also focusing my review on holes #1-#18 as they are the main layout at this time. #19-#27 now in and have signage

-North Bluff dgc boasts two teepads and two permanent baskets on every hole, which is the course's flagship feature. Red-Red is the shortest and easiest layout, but even this short tee to short pin layout is far from pitch and putt. Blue to Blue has enough length for MPO level players. Eric McCabe did a great job designing the course. Each hole feels unique and the four possible layouts makes the course very replayable.

-Practice baskets present to left of hole 1 tee area.

-Good hole variety demands right finishing and left finishing shots. Most of the holes are moderately to heavily wooded with #13 and #16-#18 being the most open.

-Great signage on each tee shows a helpful hole map and distance for each possible layout. Signs mounted on large rocks should be relatively vandalism resistant. Looks nice, too.

-Useful directions to #11 teepads that may be difficult to find otherwise.

-The parcel of land is relatively flat, but the elevation that does exist has been put to good use. #3 red basket sits on a mound while the blue basket sits downhill. #7 plays along a valley with blue tee at top of hill and red tee at the bottom and plays to red basket at the top of the other side and blue over the crest of the hill. #12 features a downhill drive and both pin placements on precarious mounds. #14's red basket sits at the bottom of a short valley that is quite difficult to access from the tee. #15 begins by throwing over yet another short valley.

-#12 and #15 to blue basket function as signature par 4's and stand as the course's most memorable holes.

-#19-#24 has a different feel than the first 18. They are deeper in the woods and see less traffic, but are good holes. #25-#27 are good, too. It's a decent jaunt from #24 to #25

#Next Tee arrows in bottom of baskets are helpful.

-North Bluff still needs breaking in. The course still feels a little raw, which is expected for a new track. Over the course of 2019 the course got much more beat in. The rough is still rough, and more and more traffic will help immensely.

-Could maybe use a few more next tee signs. Course layout is mostly intuitive. Much easier now that signage has been installed. If players are not careful, they may attempt to throw to the wrong blue basket on #3. Pay attention to the tee signs and you'll be fine.

-Hole 11 is the product of redesign and feels like a filler hole. The blue tee provides no intuitive line to either basket. Players can expect to score TONS of 3's from #11 blue tee. Don't expect much in the way of scoring separation on this hole unless playing from reds.

-Hole 5 from red to blue is a tweener hole if there ever was one. Too long and left to ever get a birdie 2 without a throw in. Too short to be a true par 4.

Similarly, the original design included a par 5, which would have been awesome. Probably not fair to judge the course on what could have been rather than what is, but having a par 5 would elevate North Bluff to a true "championship level" course. Even without a par 5, it is still one of the best courses in the UP and is likely on its way to becoming THE best course the UP has to offer.

-Nitpicking, but some of the alternative basket locations do not change the hole's line much if any. The blue baskets generally add 50-100ft of length, with blue tees doing the same.

-Not the most beginner friendly course. Course is very wooded and most holes even on the shortest layout are near 300ft or more. Would be a difficult course to learn on.

-The rough on #16-#18 is very rough and eats discs on errant shots. Tall prairie grass stands between #16 and #17's fairway. Don't throw in there. You won't have a good time.

-Ticks are thick out at North Bluff in the spring and early summer. Once the ticks are gone in July, the sand flies show up. There's also a season of gnats in August. Bugs are annoying.

-Portions of the land used to be a landfill and still show remnants of car parts and other trash objects partially buried. This is improving as the course develops.

Hopefully big things are coming 2020 out at North Bluff!

A good variety of shots for all skill levels with two baskets and two tee pads per hole. Nice signage, good flow around the front eighteen.

Two long walks from 23 to 24 and another from 27 to the parking lot. Holes 19-23 feel like filler holes to get you to the ski hill holes 24-27 which are more pain than pleasure. Poplars need to be thinned out throughout the course. Bugs are horrible.