Echo Ranch Bible Camp DGC

@cougar

154

First off the property is absolutely beautiful and the hole designs are fantastic (shot off a zip line platform, holes in Alaskan rainforest, snow capped mountains in the background, playing along a rock bed river). They have done a great job with the camp and property. Probably the most scenic course I’ve ever played and I’ve played a lot of courses around the US. Definitely give this course a visit if you are in Juneau. Wide variety of long and short, woods and open holes and holes with elevation change. Good mix of par 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s and doesn’t feel like any of the holes are stupid easy birdies or don’t have lines. Long layout is challenging, but fun. Walk to the camp/course isn’t too terrible. Went along the cove and it was pretty flat and about 2.5 miles but was very beautiful. Really wanted to give this course a 5 star, but from around holes 7-18 the course could really use some more maintenance. Needs more regular maintenance to create clear fairways as oftentimes it was overgrown and very difficult to find discs if you don’t have a spotter. Additionally a few of the holes closer to the end are pretty much unplayable due to the amount of plants that have overgrown and taken over the fairway which make it near impossible to find thrown discs (they looked like super fun holes just needs a lot of fairway clearing, plants were a waist high covering some of the fairways). Additionally teepads on a lot of holes have become overgrown by shrubbery. Could benefit from some more permanent concrete teepads, but logistically understand it is difficult due to the remoteness of the camp to put those in. The maintenance issues aside I believe if this course was very well maintained with well groomed fairways and some additional improvements such as better tee signage/way-finding signage, better tee boxes, some OB markers, one or two bridges, it has potential to be the best disc golf course in Alaska and one of the top in the US given the property’s beauty and fantastic and challenging course design