Hawthorne Park

Tough course that requires a variety of shots. Very tight and technical at first, gradually opening up as you go. Good variety in length and use of elevation too. The cement tee pads are nice with ... show more ›

Tough course that requires a variety of shots. Very tight and technical at first, gradually opening up as you go. Good variety in length and use of elevation too.

The cement tee pads are nice with short and long on most holes. A few holes have alternate baskets too.

Appears they have recently gone through with a brush hog to make it a little more friendly. But a lot of the remains were left scattered, so the fairways are not so nicely groomed in the woodsy areas. A lot of stumps in the fairways. I recall a few holes have heavy poison ivy in the summer as well.

Definitely worth checking out.

First time reviewer! I went to this course for the first time with a friend back in 2019-2020. It was definitely at the precipice as the layout was awesome but no cement pads, limited signage, no ... show more ›

First time reviewer!

I went to this course for the first time with a friend back in 2019-2020. It was definitely at the precipice as the layout was awesome but no cement pads, limited signage, no layouts etc. but again, layout was great and it seemed like it was just getting off its feet.

Fast forward to today and I loved the changes. Cement blocks at every hole (minus 1 in the front, but had my favorite layout in the front), signage mostly present (one on 16 needs to be dug back in) and the transition from wooded to open from front to back was really cool. My favorite holes are by far 1 and 18 (especially 18 because it’s so hyzerflip friendly :))

The reasons I’m giving it a B instead of an A is because of some of the confusion when you get to 6-9?) I skipped a hole on accident (one by the road) as I wasn’t aware that one of the pads was going towards a different basket. Adding wooden map / yardage posts would be really cool to see as well, along with consistent signage to help guide along the course. I also think that some holes may need to consider “opening up” in the front 9 of the course, as shot options off the pad we’re really limited by arguably unnecessary trees. Benches at every hole would be a cool plus, but I know this will come with time as it seems to have an awesome club / park behind it.

I’m a newer local so I plan to be at this course often!

PS I lost a green kastaplast rask on 6 if anyone finds it haha

As a local casual but halfway serious player, I want to thank everybody that has put time and effort into this course. My first round at The Thorne was in April of 2022 (I wouldve rated it around C+/B ... show more ›

As a local casual but halfway serious player, I want to thank everybody that has put time and effort into this course. My first round at The Thorne was in April of 2022 (I wouldve rated it around C+/B- at that time). In the months since then, it has improved by leaps and bounds in every aspect. There are a couple of seemingly odd layout aspects (that have been minimized with better signage/trail marking/brush clearing), but the usage of the land to create different kinds of holes is great. For whatever reason, this place seems to have a bad rap amongst a large portion of serious southeast Michigan/metro Detroit disc golfers. In the meantime, I'll take advantage of this course that is never crowded and offers the opportunity to play wooded, open, technical, and simple disc golf holes.

The layout is mint. The tee pads are mint. Great variation of forehand and backhand and shorter and longer holes. The elevation and basket placements are great. The best course in the area and with be ... show more ›

The layout is mint. The tee pads are mint. Great variation of forehand and backhand and shorter and longer holes. The elevation and basket placements are great. The best course in the area and with better signage, one of the best in Michigan. The only complaint I have is the long walks in between holes.

still a few holes are being adjusted like a long hole 7 and long pads on holes 3, hole 10. maybe 15. still a few holes need cleanup/ squaring off, hole 6, hole 9. even with that said it has great par ... show more ›

still a few holes are being adjusted like a long hole 7 and long pads on holes 3, hole 10. maybe 15. still a few holes need cleanup/ squaring off, hole 6, hole 9. even with that said it has great par 5 in hole 8, great par 4s in holes 1, 11, 17. really fun shots with hole 7,12,14,18, solid dry course with awesome local players. I think Pontiac area is gonna be a hot area with agawam bald mtn within 20 minutes.

Right now this is one of the best courses on the east side of the state. It has so much potential and a great club behind it! I just played it as my 300th course. I have seen courses all over the unit ... show more ›

Right now this is one of the best courses on the east side of the state. It has so much potential and a great club behind it! I just played it as my 300th course. I have seen courses all over the united states. This course has SOO much potential. I have heard things about this that made me question it. It's 100% worth the time to check out!

This course used the land provided so well. It has a mixture of woods, and open shots, from the longs there are some GREAT placement shots on the par 4s, and it's still SOO new. This course will beat in well along the rough and they are still improving it.

It could use a mando or two to make it play a little harder, but it's not needed. The holes played well and were good holes. The Par 3s were fair and some had some super cool lines.

Anyways that's enough... go PLAY IT

Ohh signage, got a little lost from 6/7, but I managed. Until then maybe a few more cheap arrows.

What a gem of a course! I love the combination of short and long holes, the technical shots through the trees, as well as a few of the wide open alleys that end a round of 18. Definitely going to be p ... show more ›

What a gem of a course! I love the combination of short and long holes, the technical shots through the trees, as well as a few of the wide open alleys that end a round of 18. Definitely going to be playing this course again soon.

I love a course that challenges you technically, like this one does. You are required to make many types of throws, even when you are playing well, in order to get up and down. There are many birdie opportunities, even for a short-throwing player like me, and lots of well-designed landing zones for some of the longer holes. Big arm players also have the opportunity to go big on some risk-reward tee shots, making a few eagle opportunities possible. It's also nice to have short and long tees (this review is based on the longs) to mix things up a bit.

The course isn't marked out super well, so you have to have an app to guide you from hole-to-hole, and there are quite a few blind tee shots throughout (pro tip: Red tape has been placed on each basket that at least points you toward the next tee pad). So if you don't know the course and aren't playing with someone who does, you may have to scout out ahead to see where you are actually throwing. Also, there are a number of really strong dog-legs that require hitting a landing zone (which are plentiful) but make low scores more challenging (which I'm not opposed to). I love that they have updated most of their baskets to chain stars, but be aware that a handful of cages are old school with single or double chains only.

Overall, this is a really fun course, it has some great shots, clever basket placements, it was well maintained, and worth visiting a time or two, for sure!

Great first 7 or 8 holes. A little confusing as there are 2 catchers on a few holes. Cannot wait til this course is finished. At the moment the course ends on 12, but had pads for 16 and 17. 10 is a l ... show more ›

Great first 7 or 8 holes. A little confusing as there are 2 catchers on a few holes. Cannot wait til this course is finished. At the moment the course ends on 12, but had pads for 16 and 17. 10 is a little close to the road where a number of kids play around, other than that not bad for a course that looks like it was just opened. Hopefully more to come. Side note, while carpet is an interesting choice for padding, the hole that's on a 8 13 ft pole needs to be fixed. Will still play again!

Fun already and has huge potential once it's finished. Great layout! You guys have already done an amazing job. If everyone brought a grab nabber to fill a small bag of trash during each round, the ma ... show more ›

Fun already and has huge potential once it's finished. Great layout! You guys have already done an amazing job. If everyone brought a grab nabber to fill a small bag of trash during each round, the main part of the park would be mint in no time. Maybe have a tournament where the entry fee is 10 lbs of trash and we can get the RC park portion cleaned up too!

Renamed “The Thorne at Pontiac Oaks”. New cement pads for this superb layout. The course is very challenging and has a variety of wooded and open holes with nice elevation. Open, technical technic ... show more ›

Renamed “The Thorne at Pontiac Oaks”. New cement pads for this superb layout. The course is very challenging and has a variety of wooded and open holes with nice elevation. Open, technical technical and moderately wooded with some unforgiving roughs and mild elevation. Hole 18 has a water hazard along the left side of the fairway. Purple Chainstar baskets. Overall creative basket placement. Shot placement in landing zones necessary for a few longer holes. The park and particularly the course is maintained. Some litter in and near the parking lot area but plenty of trash cans. Restrooms and picnic tables available. Difficult to navigate with incomplete signage. UDisc tremendously aids navigation for shorts and longs. Lots of parking available.

Just adding some reviews of courses I played way back before I was tracking my courses with reviews. This course was in for the 3/30/2013 "Detroit Mechanix Open" run by Essential Discs. This was i ... show more ›

Just adding some reviews of courses I played way back before I was tracking my courses with reviews. This course was in for the 3/30/2013 "Detroit Mechanix Open" run by Essential Discs. This was in Hawthorne park in Pontiac, MI but the course has since been removed. Was a good idea, but not the best area for a disc golf course (in the mornings, the litter that would be left in the parking lot would be seriously gross and dangerous).