Cold Brook Park Disc Golf Course near Kalamazoo, MI

Basic Information

Course Location: Cold Brook Park

Geographic Location: east of Kalamazoo, MI (42.25526, -85.34510)

Date Visited: October 2023

Number of Holes: 24

Course Length: 6436 feet, par 74

Cost to Play: $5 park entrance fee; annual passes available
Difficulty Level: recreational, high

Carts: usable, but expect a few rough areas

Potential to Lose Discs: high due to some dense woods and a lake

Park Information: https://www.kalcounty.com/parks/coldbrook/

DG Course Review Page: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/cold-brook-park.438

UDisc Page: https://udisc.com/courses/cold-brook-park-zm08

Course Walkabout Video, Front 9:

Course Walkabout Video, Middle 9:

Course Walkabout Video, Back 6:

Driving Directions: Between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, take I-94 to 40th Street (exit 88).  Exit and go south on 40th St.  Drive 40th St. to its end at MN Road and turn left on MN Rd.  Drive MN Rd. east 1.1 miles to the park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, then turn right to head into the east side of the park.  The dirt/gravel disc golf parking lot is on the right just before this road ends at the picnic pavilion.  #1 tee is at the northeast corner of the parking lot.

Course Constructions:

Tees: 1 per hole, most are concrete but a few are pavers

Baskets: 1 per hole, Mach 3, old but in acceptable shape on my visit

Signage: hole sign on each tee; some were very faded on my visit

Amenities: benches on several holes, port-o-potty at parking area, campground and picnic shelters elsewhere in the park

Summary Review: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Although it is somewhat old and dated, the disc golf course at Cold Brook Park is an excellent recreational course.  The course plays over rolling terrain mostly through a heavily wooded area.  There is a mix of long and short holes, but many of the short holes occur consecutively.  Some of those short holes require you to throw through a jungle of small trees.  While I don't like cutting down trees, the short holes would have better-defined fairways and thus offer more strategic options if some of those small trees met their demise.  The course receives a lot of traffic: there were 2 other groups playing here on the cold, damp Tuesday morning that I came here.  Yet the sheer number of holes spreads that traffic over a larger than usual area, so the course does not feel overused.  The course route forms 3 loops by bringing you back to the parking area after holes #5, #18, and #24.  The course route does cross itself once: at holes #18 and #23.  Some of the signs were very faded on my visit, and I had to consult the course map a couple of times to find the next tee.  The course maintenance was satisfactory when I came here: I encountered 1 downed tree and some moderately overgrown rough.  The park road comes into play on a couple of holes, so interference from vehicles is a possibility.  Each hole has only 1 tee and 1 basket, which limits adaptability and replayability.  Overall, this course only has a couple of memorable holes, and although it could use a refresh it remains a solid veteran venue for casual recreational rounds.

Hole-by-Hole Review 

Distances and pars taken from dgcoursereview; link provided above.  The course does not publish pars.  Picture sequence for each hole is 1) tee, 2) approach, 3) basket to tee.

Hole #1: 216 feet, par 3

Comments: the tee is located in a mowed-grass field, but the basket is almost 100 feet into some moderately dense woods.  Thus, you need a low and accurate throw to set-up a birdie opportunity on this short hole.  Dense woods lie just beyond the basket, so don't overthrow.  #2 tee is behind the basket and to the right.

Hole #2: 333 feet, par 3

Comments: a long but very open hole with a single tree directly in front of the basket.  The picnic pavilion parking lot to the left is out-of-bounds (OB) and a possible safety hazard; it is close enough you could definitely hit a car parked there.  #3 tee is to the left of the basket near the rear of the picnic pavilion parking area.

Hole #3: 231 feet, par 3

Comments: the first heavily wooded hole, the fairway is tight with a low ceiling, especially just in front of the basket.  The lake sits 20 feet left of the basket, but you are more likely to hit a tree than end up in the lake.  #4 tee is a couple hundred feet uphill and to the right.

Hole #4: 391 feet, par 3

Comments: this hole plays parallel to hole #2 but in the opposite direction.  It also plays down and up across a broad ravine.  The wide fairway with high ceiling allows you to get good distance on your tee shot, but several medium sized trees stand around the basket.  This is the hardest par 3 on this course.  #5 tee is uphill to the left.

Hole #5: 420 feet, par 4

Comments: playing moderately downhill, this hole does not play much longer than the previous hole despite its higher par, so some people think it should be a par 3.  The fairway is generously wide, but the rough has a dense understory.  Despite one overhanging limb that lowers the ceiling, it might be easier to make a 3 on this hole than the previous hole.  The parking lot is to the right.  #6 tee is less than 100 feet away; start uphill to the left and then look to the right.

Hole #6: 258 feet, par 3

Comments: the tightest hole yet, this gradual dogleg right plays across a gradual hill that slopes from right to left.  Those pine trees beside the fairway can really gobble up discs.  #7 tee is to the right.

Hole #7: 204 feet, par 3

Comments: very similar to the previous hole but shorter and without the hillside.  #8 tee is uphill to the left.

Hole #8: 294 feet, par 3

Comments: this hole starts in a narrow corridor of trees, but after 100 feet it really opens up.  A good right-to-left throw will set up a birdie opportunity.  #9 tee is in the woods to the left.

Hole #9: 159 feet, par 3

Comments: next comes a series of short tight holes.  This hole is the shortest hole on this course; it is slightly uphill and seems to have trees everywhere.  There is a narrow corridor that ends about 20 feet to the right of the basket, so if you can get your tee shot basket-high but to the right, you should have a chance at birdie.  #10 tee is to the right.

Hole #10: 189 feet, par 3

Comments: slightly more open than the previous hole but still a jungle of trees around the basket.  #11 tee is to the right near the park boundary fence.

Hole #11: 180 feet, par 3

Comments: the third consecutive short, tight hole through a collection of trees.  #12 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #12: 180 feet, par 3

Comments: on this hole the collection of trees is within the first 75 feet of the tee, so a bad ricochet makes this hole even harder than the previous few holes.  At least the area in front of the basket is fairly open.  #13 tee is to the left and back toward the tee, on the previous (east) side of the grassy area.

Hole #13: 249 feet, par 3

Comments: this hole is a little more open than the previous few holes in the sense that there are a couple of realistic routes you could use to get a disc through the trees.  It is also longer and slightly uphill with quite a few trees near the basket, so don't get too relaxed.  #14 tee is to the left.

Hole #14: 210 feet, par 3

Comments: a gradual but persistent dogleg left, the fairway is tight with trees on either side.  Unlike the previous few holes, there IS a well-defined treeless fairway all of the way from the tee to the basket, so I guess this hole is more open than the previous few holes.  #15 tee is uphill to the right.

Hole #15: 201 feet, par 3

Comments: similar in spirit to the previous hole but a dogleg right.  There are 2 possible lines of play on this hole, allowing you to decide whether you want to shape your tee shot left-to-right or right-to-left.  Both lines are tight and require an accurate throw, so the choice depends on your preference.  #16 tee is 30 feet from the basket to the right.

Hole #16: 237 feet, par 3

Comments: finally a wide fairway, and in fact the widest you have encountered since hole #8!  A good left-to-right throw will set up a birdie opportunity here.  #17 tee is behind the basket and to the right.

Hole #17: 276 feet, par 3

Comments: a long tight hole, by far the longest tight hole on this course.  There is a well-defined fairway, but you will need a lot of skill and/or luck to hit that gap.  The area around the basket is fairly open, so you will be in business if you can hit the gap.  #18 tee is behind the basket and to the right.

Hole #18: 336 feet, par 3

Comments: this gradually downhill hole starts in a narrow chute of trees, but then it really opens up.  No obstacles stand directly between the tee and basket.  The park road to the left is OB, so don't try to make the fairway wider by throwing over there.  Also, watch out for people throwing from the #23 tee to the left while standing on this tee.  The parking lot is behind the basket; #19 tee is across the entrance road to the left.

Hole #19: 231 feet, par 3

Comments: kind of a strange hole, the fairway starts directly beside the park road (which is OB) before jutting right into dense woods.  The fairway in the woods is quite narrow.  The park's lake is on the inside of the dogleg 30 feet right of the fairway, and you will need a left-to-right disc flight to get around the dogleg.  #20 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #20: 222 feet, par 3

Comments: this hole plays out of a tight chute with a low ceiling into an open mowed-grass field.  Keeping your disc on the right side of the field provides the shortest route to the basket but also brings more trees into play.  The basket is located 5 feet from the park's lake on a tiny peninsula created by a wooden retaining wall.  This hole is easily the most memorable hole on this course.  #21 tee is to the left.

Hole #21: 291 feet, par 3

        

Comments: a gradually uphill hole that plays along the west side of the same field as the previous hole.  The asphalt trail to the picnic shelter that crosses this fairway is the only asphalt surface on this course that is not OB.  That trail also creates a potential safety hazard: trees block your view of the trail to the right, so you can't easily look for pedestrians.  #22 tee is behind the basket and to the left.

Hole #22: 477 feet, par 3

Comments: long but slightly downhill and very open, this hole plays across the corner of the field that has bordered the previous 2 holes.  You can't see the basket from the tee; it is behind the right end of the row of trees you see at the far side of the field.  #23 tee is in the woods across the park entrance road to the right.

Hole #23: 192 feet, par 3

Comments: now back into the dense woods, this hole plays down and up across a shallow ravine.  The jungle of small trees in front of the basket makes this hole more akin to holes #9 through #13 than anything you have played more recently, which I guess speaks to this course's variety of holes.  #24 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #24: 459 feet, par 4

Comments: my favorite hole on this course, the tee shot plays out of a chute of trees with a low ceiling into a small field with #8 fairway to the right.  Then the hole doglegs left and descends through another narrow tunnel of trees to reach the basket located in the open area beside the parking lot.  This hole is a worthy par 4, and it is by far the hardest hole in absolute terms on this course.  This hole is a great finish to a mostly mediocre round.  The parking lot is behind the basket.