Today I said farewell to the Pacific Ocean for the next 72 hours, making my way to Eugene, Oregon to attend the 2024 Spring Oregon Small Business Development Center Network’s Leaders Conference. But before I got to my hotel, I was able to sneak in one new disc golf course: Camp Serene, a little North of Noti, Oregon.
The definition of serene, according to Dictionary.com, is “calm, peaceful, or tranquil.” And as I made my way around the property, which was a combination of open acres, wooded acres, a pond, a small stream and a river, I must say that I was feeling serene. 🙂
I’m not sure what I was expecting before playing the course, but whatever I had been expecting? The course was not it. The course was SO much better than I had expected before I arrived! Quite a bit of variety from hole to hole, excellent tees, and thousands of hours of improvements and upkeep to the land. The owner of the property, James Morse, has obviously poured his heart and soul into the course. And he has been recognized for all of his hard work, having Camp Serene rated #77 on UDisc’s list of the Best 100 Disc Golf Courses in the World in 2024.
What I always enjoy at disc golf courses is unexpected “touches of whimsy” and fun. I smiled when I stumbled upon the “guard gnomes” on the Hole 4 fairway. I also smiled and said: “Don’t nice me, bro” when I saw the NICE sign as I approached the Hole 14 tee. 🙂 It makes a round just a little more fun. Plus if you haven’t played at a course before, it makes you look around every corner, wondering what you might stumble across next.
What also surprised me about Camp Serene was how lefty-friendly the course was! 🙂 Numerous holes with a left-to-right flight path off the tee, or where throwing a LHBH S-Curve (right-to-left-to-right) was the optimal path from the tee to the basket. I played the course a bit tentative, since I didn’t have the time to spend searching for lots of temporarily lost discs, so my score -3 (52), for an estimated 998 rating, wasn’t as good as it could or should have been. But now that I know where the water OB is on a few of the fairways? Now that I know where a few of the baskets are on the tee from some of the longer holes? That is a course where I could make some noise. IF I were competitive…ha!
James also took time to chat me up after my round. Showing me his pro shop and taking the time to tell me the history of the course and how it has evolved over time, as well as sending me home with a few stickers to brag-up the course on my car. We also talked about UDisc and how it had been a number of years since the course record had been updated on DGCourseReview.com. Not to mention my asking if his pro shop might carry more DGA plastic in the future. What kind of DGA Ambassador would I be if I didn’t ask that question?! 🙂
I promised to add photos from every tee to DGCR, as well as provide a well-deserved rave about his wonderful course at discgolf.com, less than two hours Northeast of Coos Bay.
Magic Number = -44 (2,044 Courses Played)
ABOUT DEREK
Derek Tonn is a member of the DGA’s Ambassador Team. His company, Mapformation, LLC, has been DGA’s partner in the development of disc golf tee signage since 2012. The longer our two companies have worked together, and the more Derek has gotten to know all the great folks at DGA, the more he has wanted to formally sing the company’s praises. The more he has realized that “Steady” Ed’s (the father of disc golf and the modern-day Frisbee) vision for the sport and his company perfectly describes his own interests and priorities related to disc golf, and the more Derek has recently been encouraged to share his story.