Portage Lakes Disc Golf Course
Portage Lakes is situated in a State
Park, south of Akron, set around a number of small lakes that offer fishing, boating,
beaches and some pleasant residential real estate.
Just like most disc golf courses in
state parks, you drive to the remotest corner of the park to begin
your journey. Andy and I began our journey through the first leg of
holes that work their way through a wooded ravine. Fairways are tight
and a solid technical shot is needed to put you in position to par.
Many of the holes on this course are well protected by the
surroundings, I mean perilously well protected – the lakes in
Portage Lakes will come into play.
One nice feature, Portage Lakes has the
best signs I've ever scene. This one was called “The Big Dipper”
- these seem to signify certain geographic features of the course.
It also included some rules of the
game, Hole 3 had some harsh rules on moving or damaging items on the
course between the lie and the hole. Only the Red tees had rules
info, the Blue tees couldn't be bothered. Not all holes, most holes offered multiple tees. Basket location could vary.
The next few holes had us throwing down
hills, through more woods, a couple more open holes on holes 7 and 8
and then hole 9. Hole 9 was a mystery for me. It took us a while to
find. Couldn't really see the tee, no clear fairway. This is a newer
course (2014) and a bit unrefined.
Hyzer Bay
This takes us to hole 10. The signature
hole of the course. A basket that sits at the bottom of a wooded
hill, sitting 6 ft. off the ground and decorated as a fancy flag
pole. The lake sits 15 ft. behind it. The hole begs you to go for it.
It's an ace run. It's a good way to lose a disc.
Telling our story in pictures we have the protagonist, Andy - going for it. Gentleman, he nails his drive, it looks beautiful. I thought I was going to hear chains, instead I hear nothing, Andy misses by very little. He is down one star valkerie.
The next few holes play into and out of the woods near the lake. Here
is where I apologize for not having better pictures. It is a mostly
wooded course, only a couple open holes, and, well, the lighting just
wasn't very good.
Hole 14 was a challenging left to right shot straight through several trees. You see the
trees in the sign posting. You like how the demonstrated flight path
listed on the sign has you hitting several trees. I did that. In
reality, I hit one, and then it went sideways into where it says OB:
Lake. That was my orange, Diagram z-glide. It had become my favorite
disc. I won it on a CTP on a course outside Ann Harbor, narrowly
missing my first ace, as it hit the pole and bounced out onto the
ground just below the basket. I still had that z-glide to remember it
by, until Portage Lakes.
Hole 16 was also a beauty. That basket on 16 sits on top of an
earthen mound with the lake just on the other side. If you go too
far, well, the pictures here do it justice. That is a picture of Andy
saluting me as he readies his put for 16. His shot initially hit at
the top of the mound. There were steps to get down there. Objects in picture may be closer than they appear.
Portage Lakes has the makings of an awesome course, It is still
fairly new and could use some additional trimming to better define
the fairways. The first few
holes near the parking lot are littered with broken glass and beer
cans. Some people aren't down with the park system's 'you take it in, you carry it out, no trash cans, philosophy. This luckily did not extend too far out into the rest of the
course. The signage was excellent, although the navigation was a
little mediocre. I do look forward to playing this course again. Andy won, by the way, but scores were nothing to brag about.
