The Preserve Disc Golf Course

Charlie got 7 new benches recently to replace some of the broken ones and to add to a few places like on 14 Timberwolf. These new benches are long and sturdy. Adding a bunch of garbage cans and lots more benches over the past years has done a lot to improve the player experience and you can expect to see more benches and amenities in the future.

Let us also use this post as an opportunity to talk about course maintenance and what may be lacking or where specifically you think needs to be addressed. The course maintenance scores on UDisc improved dramatically over the past few years but we know there are still things we can improve. Let us know if anything specific doesn't get mentioned that you would like to see addressed.

Otter is pretty much as clean as you could expect. W**d whipping happens on the greens of hole 5, 8, 13, 15 and 16 multiple times a month and the mowing up until recently had been weekly but has slowed due to the lack of rain. Sitting at 4.8 maintenance on UDisc is above even what i expected to achieve here.

Red Fox could use some work in some areas for sure but has improved in the past month definitely. The main things for me are the water hole 12 being cleared in front of and behind the wooden boards so nothing is sticking up in the flight path that could knock a decent shot into the water, which has been achieved now mostly but has been an ongoing problem. Alex cleaned up behind 15 really well and 4 is looking better to the left and short. 5 has some thorny berry plants behind and to the left of the pin that will be addressed eventually. Bunker on 7 has been maintained all year. Trimmed up the straight gap on 10, cleared the green around 6. Manage both sides of 16 pretty well. Clear the top of the hill some people hyzer over on 17. 18 has a lot of thistles bordering the fairway but I am not really sure what to do other than just make the entire right side like 15 feet wider, the left side is a fenced parking lot and beyond the pin is a maintenance road. Alex cleaned up the tree with the pin nicely so there is no hanging branches anywhere.

Lynx has improved dramatically this year with the addition of semi rough and the attempts to keep the thistles out of the edge of the rough. On hole 2 I am mowing like 20 extra feet wide on both sides around once a month to keep the thistles out of peoples missed fairway shots. Same is happening on 3 and 15. I know if you go early right on 7 there is quite a few thorny plants that need to be removed and the green in general could be cleaned up. Going right into the woods on 12 and 13 is going to be bad but there is not much to do there, that wood line is like 1000 feet long, i could clean up closer to the pin on 13 probably though. 16 is the main problem on lynx, if you go right of the pin its extremely sharp thorns mixed with poison ivy. Its going to take a ton of work to clean up and it will make the hole play easier but we need to do it sooner rather than later. 18 is looking clean and clear after a massive amount of work trimming and cutting the right side and all the trees.

Timberwolf is looking good for the most part but has some areas where you will need a search party to find your disc. Hole 1 fairway was intentionally narrowed for the DGPT to make the hole more challenging, it's not a matter of just being lazy and not mowing more. Hole 3 the right side is a bad place to be full of stinging nettle but again its like 400 feet of wood line. I spent a bunch of time clearing the bottom of the hill to the right of the pin though. Hole 4 got an insane amount of time put into cleaning it up. I doubt there is much to do there anymore besides maybe if you miss the tee shot gap left maybe we could take out more tall grass. Hole 6 there is stuff sticking up off the shore if you launch a huge hyzer over the water that could maybe get knocked unfairly that i've been meaning to work on for a year. 7 the shore by the pin could be cleaner. 8 spent a while taking out thistles behind the pin. 9 the lower tier and sidewalk got completely trimmed and cleaned recently. 10 to the right is a super thick area where i feel like there's nothing we can do to stop it. 11 got massive cleanup behind and to the right of the pin. 12 is a problem hole where once you cross the bridge if you miss the fairway left or right it's hard to find. This would be a mega project that would need to be done in the spring or fall if it ever got approved. 18 we try to maintain the shore on the tee shot but the bunkers can sometimes get out of hand and I accept that I may not be on top of that as I should be but will work on it.

Mowing is a separate issue and has been done consistently Thursday and Friday every single week since April until this recent lack of rain made it not practical anymore. If it rained one of those days I would come in Saturday morning at 5am and finish before most players even started. This has been going on for 2 years now. Alex has also been critical in helping keep the mowing up weekly. Mowing here takes around 25 hours (depending which mower you use) for all 4 courses + practice areas and driving range. It also takes over 30 gallons of gas.

Without Griz this place just wouldn't function. The amount of heavy wood he deals with falling all over the property and across the roads is crazy. He's also the go to for heavy clearing (see the new proposed TW 5 and what he did on the new black bear 15).

Charlie does a ton of course work as well and never seems to get tired. He designed the Otter which turned out really well and also Porcupine which some of you saw last year and is coming back next week. A lot of money is being poured into this place too, all new tees for timberwolf last year as well as black hole portal pins, more garbage cans, benches, tons of great looking new signs. We now have 12 different layouts if you count the winter courses, and all the temp courses thanks to him.

Alex has been key in maintaining the place this year too. He helps with basically everything from w**d whipping to mowing to hauling massive brush piles for hours. He's also the main anchor expert on the team and has helped make every new anchor in the last two years out there, as well as doing a large amount of work on all the tees. He's also why Lynx 3 and 5 shore look so clean and 18 Timberwolf.

There is a great team out there helping keep the place as beautiful as possible, thank them for their effort if you see them out there.

Dear Minnesota Disc Golf Community,

We have been struggling with the issue of players not paying to play the Preserve for a while now, but it seems to be getting worse this season. We’re out here every day working tirelessly on these 160 acres to make all of these courses enjoyable for you. It’s hard to fathom how much effort and financial resources it takes to make this happen. But it’s becoming too much.

This place was built to be a sanctuary for disc golfers who want to throw in the most beautiful of river settings. However, too many people have been taking advantage of us, and we’re unsure on how to proceed. We don’t want to give up, but cannot continue to operate like this if people show up for the experience, but are not willing to pay the day pass for it.

Beyond unpaid rounds, we’ve also been actively dealing with multiple attempts to steal installed baskets & discs from the property.

Starting today 7/23/2026, the day pass will be $15. We don’t take this decision lightly, but with rising costs and ongoing issues of non-payment, it’s necessary to keep the preserve running.

So this is a call to all of you, please, if you love the Preserve like we do, come and support us. Or we may not be here next year.

Last night, after confronting someone who didn’t pay, our worker was threatened to be beaten up and the police had to be called. That individual has since been banned from the property and removed from the volunteer list for this year’s preserve doubles event.

Please, understand how important it is to the life of the Preserve, that if you come out here, pay your daily pass or get a season pass to support this place.

Thank you.

Mnpreserve.com

This year’s Preserve Doubles Championship lineup is shaping up to be something special.

The anchors are going in, and the brand-new Preserve Black Bear layout will be open to the public next week. We’ve made a lot of changes this year, and it’s set to be the most challenging course we’ve ever built.

We can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks—whether you’re making the trip to play it yourself or tuning in for the live coverage.

What teams are everyone most excited to see?

Mnpreserve.com
Gottagogottathrow.com

What incredible wildlife encounters have you experienced firsthand at The Preserve?

Someone recently shared a picture of this Blue Bunting seen on this basket on Lynx

Celebrate America's 250th Anniversary with the 15th Annual MN AMs presented by Exclusive Buyer Agent Tom Marcus at The Preserve Disc Golf Complex in Clearwater July 4th & 5th!

https://www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/15th_Annual_MN_AMs_presented_by_Exclusive_Buyer_Agent_Tom_Marcus_2026