fun course
1 Helpful / 3 Not
Pros: Challenging, but fun for all ages and skill level. Multiple water hazards come into play, great hanging hole and course full of mature trees with beautiful rolling hills.
Cons: A little close to park where it’s a little open sight lines where other holes come in play.
Other Thoughts: Overall great course and deserves your play!
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Nice 18 Holes in a state park
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -Nice Park, Cool lake
-Concrete tee pads (with the exception of 1 hole, #6)
-Good signage / map
-Some unusual basket locations (3 on stumps, 1 hanging from a tree on a chain)
-Nice baskets in good shape (Dynamic Discs - Patriot)
Cons: -Couple of PIA between tree mandos
-Hole #4 is impossible from the jetty, no lane to throw through
-Multi-use park with some trails / facilities / camp sites in play
-Pars a little low on a couple of holes (500'+ at Par 4 [Hole 1])
-Lack of benches and trash cans (may be due to early season / COVID)
Other Thoughts: Swan Lake State Park DGC located just south of Carroll, IA is a decent 18 hole course in a moderately hilly / moderately wooded area along the lake. A multi-use area that has trails, facilities and even camp sites coming into play. There are some unique basket set-ups - #3 is hanging on a chain from a tree and 3 others are cemented in to tree stumps. #4 is supposed to tee off from the jetty, but there is no lane to throw through, you are throwing uphill, and the trees are tall and thick. You have to take the drop just inside the tree line. While #5 and #6 play eight along the lake, they are up on a ridge with a fair amount of trees between you and the lake, but a place to be careful, nonetheless. #7 pitches down toward the lake and near a campsite, another to be a little more dainty on. Otherwise, a bit of a hike up and down at times, but a nice 18 holes in the state park. Would score higher with a fix on #4 (which would make it a much more interesting hole) and more benches /trash cans. Would not make a special trip here, but would play if in the area again.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Straight Shots, Hills and Tall Tree’s
4 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: -New Tee Pads and Maps
-18 Holes
-Well maintained and easy to not lose a disc for the most part.
-If you like straight shots through tall trees this is the course for you
-Some baskets are mounted taller on stumps to maintain easier, I assume, but also makes it a little more variety.
-Some baskets are in a cage of trees and I liked the challenge.
-Lakeviews and hills.
Cons: -Everything I think I saw was PAR 3 some shorter holes should be PAR 2 and at least 1 longer one should have been PAR 4.
-Bike/Hiking trail in the middle of course
-Many of the holes are similar.
-Hole 4 on the water could have been made better with a small clearing in the trees to throw through.
Other Thoughts: I enjoyed the park and the course. The Sauk Rail Trail extension runs right through the park with Camping next to and in a few places in the course. The course was good, but there were a lot of the same type of shots, and if you want some angle shots or big curves, you are out. PAR 3 is all I saw...
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Fun, challenging, hilly course!
3 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Nice new pads
Patriot baskets
Nice signs
Well groomed
Some elevated baskets
Thought/tight o.b.
Throwing over open water
Cons: No benches
Lack of trash cans
Occasional park bench/fire pit in the way
Other Thoughts: Very nice park and course! Great open and wooded holes. Full hook up camping available. Plenty of restrooms. Tons of old growth trees. Looks like they are prepping for some pro and am pads, great big overhead course sign. High quality baskets
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
FANTASTIC COURSE!!
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -Hole Variety
-Beautiful location
-Accessible Bathrooms
-Multi Pins
Cons: -No Pro Pads
-Need more trash cans and benches
Other Thoughts: This course is completely different than the previous 9. Pads and baskets are new and amazing! Great variety of holes and shots. Even a guy like me who sidearms distance drivers on 95% of my shots it's making me learn to back hand.
It's not quite as good as Sunnyside in Atlantic but with a few years work with the local association it could rival it.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
swan Lake Disc Golf Course
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: bathrooms
great baskets
well maintained fairways
lots of shot varieties
Cons: no benches
no pro pads
Other Thoughts: This page and the reviews currently on this page are for an old course. There is now a different course at this lake. This is now an 18 hole course with nicer baskets and concrete pads. Signs have also been installed at all tee pads. Admins have been contacted to get a different page started since it is a different course now but are to busy depositing their advertisement checks in the bank to do so. Get out and check this course out!
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Nice Area. Poor Variety.
4 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: - Bathrooms
- Water
- Nice location
- Nice Baskets
- Some Pads
- Decent Signage
Cons: - Similar Holes
- Shot variety is poor
- Most holes have no pads
Other Thoughts: The major flaw here is that you play the same hole over about 9 or 10 times. If you are good at a long straight on drive with a midrange shot then a put in the open on a side hill then this is the course for you! Good for intowners to practice at. Nothing special about this course. This things it has going for it don't bring it to a place where it would merit a trip back.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.
UPDATED review after expansion
5 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: - Hilly
- Wooded
- Water
- Concrete pads (though small)
- Good signage
Cons: - Walking trail and road run very close to the course
- A couple of 'tweener distance' holes
Other Thoughts: The course is in an area of Swan Lake State Park adjacent to the campground and bordered by the lake itself. It's a very scenic spot. Nicely maintained, grassy area that's very hilly and has many mature overstory trees. The lake comes into play on several holes.
Holes are well-marked with signs and most of the tees are poured concrete (5x8?), with one being a paver pad and another being a gravel/dirt tee on one of the fishing jetties.
The play of the course is challenging, with a good variety of shot shapes and distances available. Elevation is used well. I found that I used more of my bag than usual, as there was that much variety. There are a couple of holes that might be a bit long for a fair par three, while also being too short to be a true par 4.
The lake forms a hazard on several holes. My only beef is that every water hole has it on the same (right) side. It would improve the balance of the course if some of them traveled the opposite direction so that the water was on the left side.
I played the course on a chilly, early Spring day when the park was not very busy. There is a park road and a multi-use path that run very close to the course, so that may create conflict with other park users.
The flow of the course is logical, but there are a couple of spots where it's not obvious to first-time visitors where the next tee is. Next tee location is noted on the tee signs, but it's hard to remember that information when you have just finished the hole. For an 18 hole course, I like when the course brings you back close to the parking lot, so that you may refill your bag with discs or refreshments. This course does that.
Overall, it's a fun, challenging course to play in a great park and certainly worth a visit.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Course Has Potential
6 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: -Nice baskets
-Good elevation changes
-Nice scenery with the lake and trees around. The trees are big and mature. The holes had mostly open shots under these bigger trees but a few were more wooded.
-The state park has a buffalo near hole 1
-Lots of aces and birdies
Cons: -Finding hole one was a problem and navigation was never great. There were often large gaps between a basket and the next tee. People don't play here often so there are no paths worn in and there were no signs either.
-Isn't the longest, I think I can reach every hole in one.
-There is no signage at all. With the elevation, it was hard to know how far or short as basket was and it would have been helpful to have the tee signs point to next tee as well.
-I wasn't a fan of the tees themselves. They weren't nearly big enough and could cause problems as time passes. I could see them becoming pretty uneven.
-This course like nearly all of Iowa's state parks could be a great course but do to lack of experience, interest, and whatever else, it will remain mediocre. They have the land here to do something special. Come on Iowa State Parks!
Other Thoughts: It wasn't a bad round and my ratings are often heavily influenced by signage or lack thereof. It makes a round so much easier if you know where you are going the whole time. I think (in my humble opinion) that the other ratings might be inflated. The course may have potential to be a top notch 9 holer but right now is not. Even so, this park is the place to play for miles around. I'll get around to reviewing the course in Carroll soon.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.
A Good Course With Potential
2 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: A very fun course that's located in the southwest peninsula region of Swan Lake, as well as having terrific views of the lake while playing.
The course is pretty new (built in 2011) with the tee area being unique in having pavers instead of the usual concrete and asphalt.
Most of the 9 holes are long with the exception of the 6th hole, which is a little over 100 ft.; but the course is big and long enough to have a 1-hour worth of game.
Cons: There are a few problems with the course, but should be easily fixed in no time if they decide to improve on the Swan Lake DGC:
1. Course needs signs: When my Dad and I got to the 6th hole, it took us several minutes to find/scout a good chunk of the course until I finally located the tee for the 6th hole (which is behind the 5th hole's basket). Also, when I scouted Swan Lake Park the first time to see where the course is located, I had some difficulty until I finally found it by seeing the baskets and tees. So it would be nice if the park had some signs where the course is located in the park.
2. Tees need to be expanded: It was a great idea that they used pavers for the tees and gives the course a unique identity. However, they should have made the tees a bit larger. The pavers are laid-out in 6 rows (length) and two columns (width), so they need to expand it both width and length wise to possibly 9-12 rows and 3-5 columns.
3. Course could have 9 more holes: Although the Swan Lake DGC is pretty awesome to play with only 9 holes, the park is quite big enough to add 9 more holes. If they do add 9 more, a potential location could be in the southern part of the park around where the Buffaloes are, or possibly west of the course where there's more open areas with plenty of trees and hills.
Other Thoughts: The Swan Lake DGC is a pretty fun course to play on a regular basis and possesses great potential if the above improvements are made. It's really not a one-time-and-done-type of course, you'll be coming back to this course more and more and have the opportunity to see a terrific view of Swan Lake.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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1 
4/21/2018 
7/25/2016
Review By: cydisc 
This review was updated on 4/24/2018
Hole #5 
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