Rambadt Park is located in Reed City, MI - very close to the junction of US-131 and US-10. The park has long played host to a small campground, and recently added 18 holes of disc golf.

The course design here makes for a very short, technical round that will be a lot of fun for beginners and recreational players. The course opens with a 170' throw up a steep hill with the fairway narrowing at the top, and closes with an adjacent fairway of similar length playing back downhill. Many of the 16 holes in between also have significant elevation changes. Holes 6-10 inclusive all play downhill off the tee then back uphill to the basket, to varying extents. Holes 11-15 are flattish, but after experiencing the first ten holes you won't mind a few flat ones mixed in. The holes are short, but these aren't wide open ace runs. You'll need to shape your throws in a variety of ways to start stacking up the birdies or card that elusive ace. The rough is thin in most places, making disc loss very unlikely and scrambling for par very doable.

The infrastructure here is brand new and done right.
- Baskets are Red Chainstar Pros, each with a different sponsor on the top band.
- Tee pads are concrete framed in wood.
- Tee signs are large with all of the usual info and then some. "Then some" includes the total elevation change for the hole, and a QR code that will allow tech-savvy players to access a drone flyover of the hole.
- Navigational signage consists of the little arrows hanging in the bottom of baskets, AND extra yard-style signs wherever the next tee isn't quite in view.
- Large kiosk at the front of the course, complete with a detailed course map.
- Practice basket between the parking lot and the course.
- Restroom near parking lot (shared with an on-site campground).
- Brooms at all tees to sweep the pads off.
- Little Ziploc bags with paper in them at each tee, which (I believe) are intended as a way for players to sign their aces without writing on the tee signs.
- Trash cans at most tees.
- Cut-off stumps functioning as makeshift benches at some tees. Would I like to see some real benches? Sure, but not an issue by any means.

This park is pretty small to squeeze in a full 18 holes. The biggest problem this causes is several safety issues. The area around holes 3-6 was the worst in my mind. I was playing hole 5 when someone's errant drive on hole 3 whizzed by nearby. Overthrowing hole 4 (only 114') can also lead to encroaching on hole 5. There were several other places around the course where fairways were too close together for my liking. In one area, a wooden "wall" has been constructed to protect a tee area from an adjacent hole. Hopefully more construction like this is planned. Until then, keep your head on a swivel when playing here for sure.

When I say the holes are short, I mean VERY short. There are only three holes longer than 200' - and those are 255', 244', and 233'. Any players above recreational level are going to be dreaming of shooting -18. After a rather disappointing front nine in which I missed three easy putts, took a bogey, and only shot -1 overall (in fairness, all of those 200'+ holes are on the front nine), I birdied all of the back nine holes except #12 to finish 9 under par.

I don't mind tighter gaps than normal with the shorter distances, but there were a couple of holes that still seemed like they could lose another tree or two. #8 comes to mind.

There is significant road noise from both highways, detracting from the experience a bit in my book.

For those couple of readers who this will mean anything to - this course plays at a similar length to The Tinderbox (near Ludington, an hour's drive due west of here). But Tinderbox is both more challenging, and safer.

Rambadt Park DGC is a fun beginner course, and I was impressed with the infrastructure - especially considering that the course is brand new. That said, I really hope they address some of the safety issues. I had to wonder if a 9-hole design with short and long tee pads on each hole would have still appealed to new players while being both safer, and more interesting for better golfers. At least all of the issues are DG-on-DG here.

In closing, this new course is a fun and accessible option in an area that is thin on DG options (as the course info tab notes, it's the first public course in the county). For those traveling on US-131 from southern Michigan cities like Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo "up north" towards destinations like Traverse City and Petoskey, this is an easy stop. If the course isn't busy, you could comfortably roll through solo in 45 minutes or so. Since I'm up and down this way several times a year, Rambadt Park DGC is very likely one that I'll return to!