Michigan New Course Updates

[apdrvya]

It's listed. A bit early, IMO, but whatever.

holy spit 7200' for 18 holes?

 

[ejvogie]

Works out to a 400' average. I haven't been yet, but am told they have the first 2 legit par 4's in Toledo...

 

[ru4por]

OK guys. Heading to GR next week for some brewery hopping and course bagging. Probably will get in 5 courses, hit me with you suggestions. Taking brewery suggestions as well.

 

[The Shide]

Grand Isle is a good start. From there you can hit Fallasburg or SMASH or even Riverside. Jaycee is a good choice. Hit me up when you are here & if I'm available I can be your guide. I'm not a drinker, so I really couldn't tell you what breweries to hit. You can't roll a Condor around here without hitting one, so I'm sure there must be some decent ones in the bunch.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I'll 2nd Fallasburg.

Reach out to Joe Gill on DG Scene, and see if you can play Blue Gill... a bit south of GR, and worth it.

 

[jeremyhilss]

The 1,000 foot Hoovie Hole on Mountain Man's Playground is now 100% playable, and it's AMAZING!!!

I wish I had time to throw it more than once but sunlight was going quuiiick.

One of the most beautiful holes in disc golf; think of HBH Gold no. 8, except a bit more wooded and a steeper grade. Also the first 334' is a RHBH hyzer before it goes in a straight direction downhill.

 

[ru4por]

OK guys. Heading to GR next week for some brewery hopping and course bagging. Probably will get in 5 courses, hit me with you suggestions. Taking brewery suggestions as well.

OK, got off my lazy butt and made use of the spectacular DGCR features, including reading Bogey's reviews. He is generally spot on and we seem to look for the same stuff in courses. No disrespect of many of you here, I also read them as well. Here is the list I came up with. We will play a maximum of 5 courses....likely four. I am playing with Mrs ru4por and she would like to do some tourism stuff....Meijer Garden, Gerald Ford Museum.... She is a vet golfer and pretty all terrain, so tough courses are in play. Having played none of these, let me know what you course bagger or locals think.

Riverside Park, Grand Rapids Rotary North, Fallasburg Park, Yankee Springs Golf Course, Paw Paw Park, Bertha Brock County Park, Ionia State Rec. Area and need to get ahold of Joe Gill to see about Blue Gill.

 

[Reniger]

Joe Gill has one of the best courses in the state. Tuesdays are a no-go, but typically he's super good about working with your schedule. Especially as an out-of-towner. Our league is actually going out there for a round soon. I'm pumped!

I'll start with stores; Disc Baron is a phenomenal shop on the north side (5 minutes from Rotary North aka Grand Isle DGC) He has a great selection, beautiful new shop, and Jacob is one of the best guys in the sport. Super kind, helpful, and generous. Second is GR Hobby and Disc. Over 1000 used discs, again, a great selection of new plastic, and Shea is another great guy who does a TON for the local scene - from running leagues, to running and sponsoring tournaments, to charity events. His shop is less than 5 minutes from Jaycee Park which has a pretty solid shorter wooded course.

Course;

Riverside: Good course, but really bad baskets and covered in good poo. Not my favorite for those two reasons. However, there are two courses on the property and it's Downtown Grand Rapids.

Rotary North: Great course. They use Arroyo Vortex baskets - the best baskets ever made, hands down! On an old golf course property so there are OB Sand Traps and plenty of water in play as well as some woods for natural obstacles. Very good course.

Fallasburg: One of - if not the - best in the area. Plenty of elevation in play, mostly wooded (and dense) course. Great variety of short technical holes to long bombers (500' uphill or 700' through some trees) Truly an incredible design that will challenge the best of players.

Yankee Springs: Golf carts. Nuff said. Pretty course as it's maintained by the golf course's grounds crew, but can be a bit boring with mostly open holes.

Paw Paw: Formerly Macatawa Greenspace. BEAUTIFUL course. Absolutely gorgeous. Some of the best signage and layout around, however, it is very poorly groomed and ends up with rough that is ~2-3 feet high and full of burrs, razor grass, thistle, and large leaf rhubarb. Makes getting in the rough extremely difficult to find your discs.

Bertha Brock: Sick course! Super elevation changes, decent equipment, very challenging wooded course. Be prepared to be absolutely WIPED OUT by the time you finish! I'm quite fit and usually have no problems with hiking, but daaaaamn, Bertha makes me want to get a rascal scooter!

Ionia State Rec: Brand new. Potential to be a truly top-notch PDGA level course. Brand new equipment, well kept grounds, well cut fairways, and a large area used very well to put in a solid course. However, being as it's so new, there are some holes that are not completed yet and some walking paths are not worn in yet. There is work being done constantly and the negatives are all pretty minor, but it is a great visit.

SMASH Park: A bit of a drive from GR (about 20 minutes north of Fallasburg) However, it's one of my favorite in the area. It's the ideal of Michigan disc golf. A good bit of elevation usage, very tight technical wooded course, again, Arroyo Vortex baskets which are a HUGE plus in my mind, and all-in-all a great course, albeit short.

Earl W. Brewer: Again, 2 full 18 hole courses on the same property. Fun layouts with one open course using more elevation and one wooded course. Not the best in the area and it has some nasty old Mach 3 baskets that can't catch a cold, but it's still a fun 36 hole course.

Personally, if you're looking at 4-5 courses, I would say SMASH, Fallasburg, Rotary North, Bertha, and Blue Gill if you can get in. (ranked to my personal preferential order)

Breweries;

Obviously, Founders is the greatest thing in the world. Not much more needs to be said. But, you're in Beer City USA! There's so much to choose from! Some of my favorite craft spots are Brewery Vivant, Atwater, and the greatest thing to happen to Grand Rapids this decade, NEW HOLLAND BREWERY OPENED THE KNICKERBOCKER PUB!!! Seriously. If you stop by Founders and New Holland Knickerbocker, your trip is glorious.

If you need any help with courses while you're in town, PM me and I'd be glad to offer assistance or guidance.

 

[Reniger]

* Meant to say Riverside is covered in "goose" poo. Whoops! Also, for anyone unfamiliar... I'm just gonna drop this here... Arroyo Vortex

 

[Puckstopper]

I don't get the love for SMASH. It was mediocre at best. There are way better choices. I haven't played any other course in the area more than once, so I'll leave those to the experts. If you're traveling through Mt. Pleasant the Deerfield courses are tons of fun, and are where I usually choose to play when visiting my cottage in Crystal.

I second checking out Disc Baron. He was super cool and had a decent selection.

New Holland is definitely my favorite GR brewery, but it's a bit of a haul. Perrin brewing had some interesting beers last summer, and is worth a look if you're north of town.

 

[Reniger]

I don't get the love for SMASH. It was mediocre at best. There are way better choices. I haven't played any other course in the area more than once, so I'll leave those to the experts. If you're traveling through Mt. Pleasant the Deerfield courses are tons of fun, and are where I usually choose to play when visiting my cottage in Crystal.

I second checking out Disc Baron. He was super cool and had a decent selection.

New Holland is definitely my favorite GR brewery, but it's a bit of a haul. Perrin brewing had some interesting beers last summer, and is worth a look if you're north of town.

If it's been a while since you've been to SMASH, I can completely understand. It was quite rough when they first put it in. Mike and crew have been constantly putting in work making lines better, changing a few basket positions, and clearing stumps. Currently, it is a tight, technical short course. I can also understand how some people dislike it for the length. There are no open holes that you can really bomb a driver on. Typically, I only pull out anything over a 6 speed on 2 holes. Still, personal preference. I just like the forest courses.

 

[Puckstopper]

I'm with you on forest courses, and don't mind something short. I just felt like the carpet teepads were the worst thing I'd ever played on (i feel they're actually dangerous), and that the baskets didn't catch well. Combining all that with the fact that I played it twice, separated by several months, and was eaten alive by bugs both times the course just left a really bad taste in my mouth. Given the proximity of other, much more interesting and challenging courses, I choose to play elsewhere when I travel West.

In fairness though, I'm not a local, so I never get the chance to get tired of any of the great courses within an hour's drive of my cottage. An average course I play up north still beats anything I have in Columbus hands down.

 

[Reniger]

LOL No argument on bugs! Wicked 'squitos! There are definitely negatives to SMASH, I actually think the worst is just location. There's no good way to get there. Plus, you typically drive right past Fallasburg.

 

[apdrvya]

hoping someone can help me. I've reached out to Jon at Spinski's and wanted to find out about the "championship" course. I need to play it if it's still in the ground but wanted to find out if I could just drop in and pay at the pavillion or if I needed approval.
Also, looking for someone to get me into Sandy Pines.

 

[ru4por]

hoping someone can help me. I've reached out to Jon at Spinski's and wanted to find out about the "championship" course. I need to play it if it's still in the ground but wanted to find out if I could just drop in and pay at the pavillion or if I needed approval.
Also, looking for someone to get me into Sandy Pines.

Central Scrutinizer??

 

[The Shide]

hoping someone can help me. I've reached out to Jon at Spinski's and wanted to find out about the "championship" course. I need to play it if it's still in the ground but wanted to find out if I could just drop in and pay at the pavillion or if I needed approval.
Also, looking for someone to get me into Sandy Pines.

The last I knew of, the championship course was still in. Pay at the pavilion & usually he is around somewhere & will likely give you a tour of the course.

 

[The Shide]

Riverside Park, Grand Rapids Rotary North, Fallasburg Park, Yankee Springs Golf Course, Paw Paw Park, Bertha Brock County Park, Ionia State Rec. Area and need to get ahold of Joe Gill to see about Blue Gill.

Ionia was VERY rough on the back portion when I played it a couple of months ago. Very rough. It looked like someone stopped in the middle of one fairway (hole # 20 something) even lost a disc because of how rough it was. I would give it some time before trying it. Same hole, I seem to recall, had a creek run through it, but no way to cross it. Yeah, give this one some time. One fine day, it will be an awesome course.

Geographically speaking, Riverside, Grand Isle, Fallasburg, then Bertha, then BlueGill, then Yankee Springs. Paw Paw really doesn't fit in with this itinerary. It is west of GR. If you're doing a day trip, that is a lot of driving. And a lot of frolfing. Fallasburg, Bertha are a lot of up and down hills and some long holes.

Have fun.

 

[ru4por]

Ionia was VERY rough on the back portion when I played it a couple of months ago. Very rough. It looked like someone stopped in the middle of one fairway (hole # 20 something) even lost a disc because of how rough it was. I would give it some time before trying it. Same hole, I seem to recall, had a creek run through it, but no way to cross it. Yeah, give this one some time. One fine day, it will be an awesome course.

Geographically speaking, Riverside, Grand Isle, Fallasburg, then Bertha, then BlueGill, then Yankee Springs. Paw Paw really doesn't fit in with this itinerary. It is west of GR. If you're doing a day trip, that is a lot of driving. And a lot of frolfing. Fallasburg, Bertha are a lot of up and down hills and some long holes.

Have fun.

We have about 5 days, Shide. Probably pick them off one a day. We are old, ya know. Thanks for the feedback. Have worked out an itinerary, should be pretty close to finalized at this point.

Wednesday- Paw Paw
Thurday- Yankee Springs
Friday-Bertha Brock 11:30
Saturday-Rotary 12:00 game….early or late round
Sunday- Ionia/SMASH
Monday-Fallsburg

I got a buddy driving in for the weekend to play as well as Mrs. ru4por. We want to check out a couple tourist gigs and leave plenty of time for restaurants and brewery touring. I think we are going to save Blue Gill for a weekend trip next summer...I have to play Vicksburg anyway.

Thanks to all those who have generously posted. Man, what a great resource to be able to get the feedback of locals...in addition to the reviews. We should be getting out to these course around 10/11 each day, except where list above. Would love to see any of yous guys. If anyone interested in playing a round above, let me know, I would be happy to post a confirmed time the night before.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Central Scrutinizer??

I'm honored you thought of me, but I've never been to Spinski's. Too busy in the last several years to do anything besides the closest courses to me (like ViRA and Oshtemo) or whenever I make it up to my good friend's course in Manton (Wild Haven).

 

[ru4por]

I'm honored you thought of me, but I've never been to Spinski's. Too busy in the last several years to do anything besides the closest courses to me (like ViRA and Oshtemo) or whenever I make it up to my good friend's course in Manton (Wild Haven).

:thmbup:
Mike's place is a fantastic trip. I have not had the chance to play the second course yet, it was in, put not completely cut or signed yet.