Pros:
School Section Lake Veteran's Park is located on the lake of the same name, in a rural community in mid-Michigan. The park is run by the county and is part beach, part campground, and part multi-use park.
The beach and campground here look really nice. Old growth trees provide some shade on hot summer days. There are numerous benches and picnic tables to sit and relax. There is a camp store where you can buy all of the essentials.
A large open field in the center of the park is occupied by a host of other park amenities. A baseball diamond, soccer field, and basketball court all are spaced out around the field. Everything is well-kept. You can tell that there is some money going into maintenance. There is even free Wi-Fi available throughout the park.
Cons:
Wait, what? This is DISC GOLF COURSE Review? My bad. Yes, so that large open field in the middle of the park also has nine wooden poles. The poles are nicely painted and have large hole numbers at the top, the exception being the 9th target which is labeled "Finish" (this is also the Start). That's it for infrastructure. No tee pads. No tee signs. No map or navigational aids, although to be fair you can pretty much see all the poles from any vantage point within the park as another reviewer mentioned. Make sure not to miss poles 2 and 6, which are further away from the center of the field than the others. If unsure, the map uploaded here is still relatively close to being correct. The course doesn't stretch as far to the "right" (actually north) as shown there, but it still plays counterclockwise around the field and starts near the park office.
The two phrases I would use to describe the layout are "potentially dangerous" and "extremely boring". The other park amenities mentioned above are in play on many of the holes. The course also plays close to, and on two holes crosses over, various park roads - and elsewhere you'll throw near where cars may be parked. Most of the nine throws are wide open looks across the pancake flat field, with zero obstacles between the tee and basket. The few obstacles that are present are man-made, other than a tree with low-hanging branches near target #2. I estimate most distances to be in the 200'-300' range. I had to wonder if the designers could have made the course both safer and more interesting by locating the poles closer to the wooded edges of the property.
Other Thoughts:
There is a $10 day use fee to enter the park, payable at the park office mentioned earlier. Credit cards are accepted if the office is open. A note for diehard baggers: Once purchased, the day use pass is good at all Mecosta County Parks - including Brower Park which also has nine (slightly more interesting) pole holes. You shouldn't come here only to play disc golf - but if you do, make sure you also visit Brower Park on the same day to reduce your per-course greens fee from $10 to $5.
As I was teeing off on the last hole, a park employee drove up to me on a maintenance cart. I don't remember how the conversation began, but in less than 30 seconds the very friendly older gentleman was telling me that he was planning on moving pole #6 towards the center of the field, which would eliminate both throws over park roads. Unfortunately, this would also make the course even more dull. On the plus side, he clearly has the safety of this course's target audience (children and families staying at the campground) in mind, and I applaud that. On the minus side, that interaction did make me feel a lot worse about handing out my second 0.0 rating to this course. But this isn't "Darn Good Campground Review" - it's Disc Golf Course Review. And even if this one were free to play, it wouldn't be worth the trip for disc golf alone. There is some value for field practice/introducing the sport to people staying at the campground, but it all adds up to less than 0.25 rating so I have to round down to 0.0.
This is currently the worst rated course in the state of Michigan on DGCR (minimum 1 review). If that fact makes some small part of you want to drive an hour or more and pay $10 to play here, take a deep breath and accept it - you are a course bagger!