Disc Golf Course Review

Haubstadt Johnson DGC is a mostly wooded and moderately hilly 18 hole course in a beautiful little park. There's only three holes that are out in the open, holes 11,12 and 13. These three play around the area by the baseball diamonds. The rest of the course is short but tight wooded holes through the woods.

The baskets are red, silver and blue Dynamic Veteran's. These are some of my favorite looking baskets. They catch nicely too. One basket and pin placement per hole. No complaints with these.

Concrete tee pads on each hole. Not the biggest by any means but good sized for a shorter length course like this one. All are poured nicely, level and plenty grippy enough. One tee pad per hole.

The design is solid out here. Minimal walks between holes minus the ones out in the open section. There's a great mix of left, right and straight shots out here. I'd say it's almost evenly split actually. The elevation is present throughout here. Rollaways are a real possibility with some of the pin placements so you'll need to approach the pin with caution on quite a few of the holes. Just an all around solid mix of different feeling holes despite mostly playing through the same terrain.

The tee signs are nicely done. Generic hole map that also has a next tee arrow to go along with the hole #, par and distance. Perfectly suitable signs.

The course was in pristine shape when we played and looks to be well taken care of in general. Free to play and permanent.

The open holes kind of ruin the vibe of what is otherwise a really fun wooded experience. They also are the only part of the course where navigation isn't straightforward. We got turned around after hole 10 and headed to 14 instead. I get it, there's just not enough room to fit 18 holes in the woods but it's still a con.

There were a couple holes that were borderline poke and hope shots off the tee. There's lines but a couple are extremely tight bordering on luck.

As other's have said, the course does feel cramped. The fairways are very close to each other but there is pretty much always a treeline between you and the neighboring fairway.

This was a very enjoyable course. I'm glad this one was recommended to me or I would have completely overlooked it. This one is absolutely worth a spin if you find yourself nearby or even just traveling through. Great putter and mid course for more experienced players and it won't take too long to get a round in. Not a must play but one you will be glad you did play afterwards.

The Spillway DGC is a long, long "championship" caliber course located just outside of Pana IL next to Lake Pana. The course is heavily wooded and very hilly. There's only two open holes on the whole course, holes 1 and 8. There's also a fairly large creek that runs through the west side of the course by holes holes 2, 3 and 4. The creek actually runs almost the entire length of the fairway for hole 3 creating lots of OB potential.

This course is looonnnggg. The course totals come in at 10,500 feet and a par of 71. Just a massive course from the long tees, which are currently the only tees in place. There looks to be plans for shorter red tees but these are nowhere near done at the time of this review. There were red flagged areas on many of the fairways which looked to be shorter positions. Even with the shorter positions it's still going to be a long course unless there's also plans for a second basket on each hole.

Currently the baskets are beautiful, brand new Innova Discatcher Pro 28's. These are top of the line baskets and catch great. The yellow bands really make them stand out in the woods out here. One basket per hole. It appears that there will be multiple placements, at least on some of the holes, but I can't be certain with the lack of tee signs at the moment.

The design is pretty well done. Still very rough around the edges but you can see what the final goal is intended to be. If a couple more trees can be removed to open up the lines a bit it'll go a long way, especially near some of the pins. The flow of the course is pretty good too. You'll definitely want a map for the time being, but it's doable without one if need be. The course starts out with a bang. There's two 1000+ foot holes out of the first three. Hole 4 is nearly 1000'. Thankfully it gets back to more normal lengths by the back half, mostly.

The tee pads are a mixed bag at the moment. There was probably a third of them that were concrete while the rest were either gravel or still being framed up. All are marked though.

There's a lot of cons currently. I'll leave the unfinished aspects out of it though.

My biggest issue with this course is the sheer length combined with the heavily wooded nature of the design. The top pros would get eaten alive out here. The wife and I aren't pros by any stretch of the imagination but we're not noobs either. It took me 99 throws to finish the round out here. 99. That's 28 over par. The wife finished at 117 throws. 46 over par. 46. That's worse that any other course either of us have ever played, and that's a lot of different courses. I sincerely hope that shorter tees are in the works or this place will never see any traffic. This was in ideal cool spring conditions too.

I don't see how this course is going to be maintained in the warmer months. It's just so massive. On top of that there needs to be numerous bridges put in to safely navigate the numerous creeks and ditches that run throughout the course. I was joking at the end that the course is all about cross a creek, walk up a hill, cross a creek, walk up a hill. Half joking honestly.

Some of the holes just felt like overkill. Lots of the actually but I'll name a few. Hole 3 is just way too long to have a creek running the length of it. You're going to have to keep crossing from one side to the other if you're not straight up in the creek. Holes 12 and 16 are already longer right turning holes that finish uphill. Is there really the need to push the pin to the back side of the open area that the powerlines run through? That's an additional, and unnecessary extra 70 or so feet.

At no point does the course loop back to the lot so you'll need to pack everything you need beforehand. Expect a long round out here. It took the two of us over two hours to play it without stopping for a break.

There's thorns and all kinds of other nasty stuff off and even in the fairway out there. I haven't bled on a course like I did out there in a long time. There's also lots of tripping hazards at the moment, but I'm sure that'll be cleaned up soon enough.

This course has potential and I'll gladly update my review if I play it again in a couple years. As of right now it's just too raw and unforgiving for me to recommend this one to anyone. The bones of a great course are there but it's a ways off at the moment.

Tower hill DGC is a pretty long and basically wide open 9 hole course in a tiny town. There's nothing but farm fields in all directions on three sides of the course so the wind will be the main challenge out here. There are a couple trees to contend with otherwise the course is just flat and open.

The baskets are beautiful red and blue Dynamic Discs Veteran's. These are about the best looking baskets on the market in my opinion. They're all mounted nicely and catch great. One basket and one placement per hole.

Concrete tee pads on each hole. These are all really large for a course this size and poured nicely. Awesome tees honestly. One tee pad per hole.

There's a course kiosk right by hole 1 with a full course map on it. You can always take a picture of this to use as a map which is nice to have for first time players. The flow of the course is easy to follow even without a map though.

The tee signs are pretty simple but effective. Basic hole map, hole #, distance and both rec and advanced pars. The best and most useful part is that they're easy to spot on the large posts.

Very vanilla course. Just a bunch of wide open shots in a wide open field. There's not a single unique shot out here. It all just kind of blends together.

In the late summer when the crops in the bordering fields are up there's going to be a real chance to lose a disc. Especially with how windy it can get out there.

The holes are really long for a small city park course like this. The shortest hole is 248' but there's also five holes that are at least 400'.

This course is a quick play if you happen to be in the area or travelling through. I wouldn't go any sort of distance out of my way to play it though. Very bland and forgettable course.

Illinois Valley Community College DGC is a 9 hole course that plays around what used to be a baseball diamond but is now just an open grassy area on the SW side of the campus. The course was installed when there was still a ball diamond so the layout skirts what used to be the edges of that.

There's two concrete tee pads on each hole. These are nice sized and in great condition. The two different pads alter the shot a good bit on each hole. This is nice to have on a smaller piece of land like this.

The tee signs are basic. Hole #, par and distance. They're listed as 1-18 though. For example the two tees for hole 1 will have signs that read hole 1 and hole 10. There's also either a blue or red line painted on each. These go with the painted rung on each cage that points to the tee of that color. They continue that way for the entire course. They're mounted on tall 4x4 posts, many of which have bag hangers too. Nothing fancy but very serviceable.

The course is what I would consider lightly wooded. The first three hole are mostly, if not entirely open before getting over to the more wooded section for the final six. The course is basically entirely flat and there's nothing but open fields on three sides so the wind will usually be a factor out here too.

Older Innova Discatcher's on each hole. These are showing their age but still catch just fine. One basket and placement per hole. As I mentioned above they each have a rung painted either blue or red and that points you in the direction of the next tee of that color. Two of the baskets are elevated though. Hole 3's is on ann extended post and hole 5's is placed on top of a gravel covered mound. Nice little touches to add a bit of challenge.

The course was free to play and everything was mowed nicely and very clean. Probably never overly busy either.

The flow is a little goofy from hole 2 to hole 3. You have to walk probably 50 yards to get to 12's and about 80 yards to get to 3's tee. Not very obvious either with there being a steel post right behind 2's basket.

There's no parking by the actual start of the course. You'll need to park in the parking lot directly across from the gravel trail leading into the course.

The last six holes are all kind of crammed into the same little area. It wouldn't be the safest place to play if there were multiple groups out there at the same time.

This course was a pleasant surprise. I was going to play regardless of the rating since I was in the area but it's actually a pretty nice little course. I'd play this one in it was located near me, even with the other better options nearby. Not a must play obviously, but you can certainly do worse than this course.

Even by church standards, Resurrection Park is an interesting course.
- Once you drive around the church building, the first thing you notice is there's a house right there. As you walk to the first tee, you're essentially teeing off from the pastor's front yard.
- First hole has you teeing off around a shipping container for a blind tee shot. Throw long as there's a small pond short and left of the basket. Once you're to the basket, the pond serves as a nice view.
- #2 tees off alongside the road. By default, one of the better views.
- #6 is a dogleg left around the edge of a tree line. Unfortunately, the area around the basket is extremely overgrown that you don't want to be too aggressive here. Picked up my disc after my tee shot and gave myself a 3 rather than messing with this.
- #7 is the 'fun' hole with the basket up on a mound, 10 feet off the ground. Could have a potential issue if you sail long past the mound on your tee or approach shot. Underbrush on mound is thick, even in Winter, that you should be prepared for a couple scratches on it.
- #9's basket is between one of the shipping containers and the fence around the pond. Blind tee shot. Take a 3, don't mess with trouble here, and call it a day.
- Each hole has a long tee. Some give slightly different looks rather than simply being 50 feet behind the original tee.
- There are tee signs here that are decent.

Course feels like an afterthought. With it built on, or along the edges of a field, it's very low maintenance.
- Holes #4 & 5 are no more. Baskets have been pulled. Fairways are so overgrown that if you didn't know they were supposed to be fairways, you wouldn't be able to tell. That let's me know this isn't a new thing.
- I couldn't find #9's tee. Based on the UDisc map, I'm glad I didn't. It appears that you're throwing over, or around, the pastor's house.
- #8's basket was much shorter/closer than the listed length.
- No amenities here. If you're coming from I-95/NC-87, there are gas stations, 5-10 away. If you're coming from other back roads, well, I didn't see a gas station for a long time when I left.
- Too many open layouts. #4 & 5 would have given this course much needed variety.

Resurrection Park is an interesting layout for sure. From starting and finishing your round in somebody's yard to walking around a large field, there's no doubt you're in a rural area.
- I didn't bother throwing the long tees. I didn't see a reason to walk around this place a second time. I figured standing on the long tees gave me enough sense that the second time around, my tee shots would be 50 feet shorter than the first time.
- The church offers this area as a community park. There's also a ¼ mile walking trail and playground. On a Saturday afternoon in the end of December, two guys showed up to simply run a couple laps on the trail. Maybe there isn't anywhere else close by to get your mile in.
- The church building itself looks like a big-top tent. I first thought I was driving around the rec building until realizing that it's the main, sanctuary building.
- A little bit of small cacti and sandspurs in the field here. So, just be aware if you're wearing open-toed/soft shoes.
- As of 4/24, the church's website lists the lead pastor as Elijah Lovejoy. His profile says he's a disc golfer. He's one of us!
- I'm not going to knock a small, church course in the middle of nowhere. It's clear most people bypass this course. Now I see why. A one-time play for me and for most others too.

The amount of difficulty can be varied so much. Short tee to short pin for beginners, short to long or long to short for intermediate players, then long to long for the top end of players... and you will need to be a top-end player to break par. Some holes the tees/baskets are only 50 feet apart, and sometimes they add 250+ feet to the hole. Having now played the short-short layout, the difficulty isn't all gone as there are still some difficult shot shapes required. With this, all skill levels can have a great, challenging round at Wilderness.

No hole can be considered boring. Sure, 16 and 17 are short and 1 and 6 are pretty dead straight, but there is always something to keep the hole interesting whether it be a fast green or a cage of trees around the pin.

True two-shot par 4s abound. 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, and 15 all do this well. The par 5s (3 and 18) are true par 5s. 3 is possibly an eagle opportunity, but it would take two superhuman shots, and 18 we'll talk about later.

For being an all wooded course, the shot variety is second to none. Being forced low was the main challenge here, as holes 6, 7, 11, and the green of 8 had some serious low-hanging branches to avoid. Obviously the left-to-right and right-to-left and uphill/downhill mix was just about perfect, too.

The maintenance is just about as good as it can be for a heavily wooded course like this. The upkeep around the tee pads is superb and the baskets are in excellent condition.

The tee signs are very helpful. There is one at each pad listing the distances to both baskets from both tees, and the overhead illustration is really quality, except it doesn't really show all the trees...

Scary greens all over the place. The first one is the long pin of 3, set just before the top of the hill with plenty of opportunity to roll back down the fairway, 11 short is similar but less extreme. 5, 12, 15, and 18 long are set with sheer drops behind them, as is 14 short. Hole 7 is just one big hillside. There are also plenty of holes where the foliage is close behind the pin making a comebacker difficult (4, 8, and 17 long being the most blatant).

There are so many unique features, I will share just a highlight reel here:
- Hole 3 long is absolutely unreal. A 30-ft wide tunnel for the first 450'. then a sharp 45° left, and a 5 story rise in elevation over a further 300'. This is one of the most impressive holes I've ever played and I was lucky enough to grab the par.
- Hole 7 is a short hole, but plays onto a hillside about 30 feet high. The short pin is to the left and the long is to the right. The rollaway danger is high here.
- Hole 10's long pin is tucked behind a tight 90° right mando which could (nee, will) force some creative shots unless you beat it in one.
- Hole 14 plays 150' through a tunnel of trees, then comes blasting out over a two story drop in elevation, culminating in a short uphill to the green.

It's time to talk about it. Hole 18. It is the best hole I have ever played. I have never been so wowed by the sheer look of a hole. Sure, I've seen some great views from certain tee pads, but this was purely the hole. Staring at a 30' drop in elevation off the tee and then a slow right turn about 300' down the fairway, followed by 550 more feet of trees to play through (over a rise in the ground) to get to the green, which has plenty of trees itself... the breathtaking view followed by the challenging hole was unreal.

The first tee can be hard to find from the parking lot since there are two practice baskets. It's just past the yellow one.

There is a risk of going into the campground/RV area if you get a bad kick on hole 1.

The rough is appropriate for a place called "Wilderness," but the thorns can get nasty and recovery shots from off the fairway can be both overly difficult and uncomfortable.

There are a few spots where I feel there are just a few too many trees. Hole 1, and the approaches to 5 and 6's long greens. Some may consider hole 12 in this as well, but once you beat the first tree it becomes considerably easier.

If you're used to bombers then there will be some frustration as it is a technical challenge, but it's a style you probably need to learn *wink*

Take your time as it seems like a pretty low traffic course. Throw 2-3 shots per hole and see what works best. The lines you'll learn (*cough* hole 12 *cough*) are ones you can take with you to other wooded courses.

Go play this course. The most unfortunate thing about this course is that it's so far away from major cities. I came from the Dells about 40 minutes away, and it's about an hour from Madison... but I can't say enough good about this course. If you happen to be anywhere near here, stop and play it. No excuses.

A variety of distances, a lot of gentle slopes to make things interesting, and a handful of trees.

There are basically 2 fields that 16 of the holes play across, so when there are more than a handful of people on the course, you're constantly having to wait for other players and be aware of discs coming in from all directions. It's all that could ever be done with this park, but this course is a victim of disc golfs growing popularity, and a lack of public courses in the south of the city.

Basically a wide open course. The few trees that are available to the designer are all very close to the extremities of the park, and so only partially used to obscure the baskets. So to get a bogie here, you have to make at least 2 mistakes. Trees are only ever around the baskets so you'll never have to shape a shot.

A very average course, you play this because you need some variety or you happen to be in the southern part of the city and don't want to have to travel farther.

Old Shaded Park
Cement tee pads
New baskets

No tee signs
not going to be installed in summer months.

In the past this course has only been set up for tournaments. Apparently the locals got the city to have the course be installed for the winter months when the park is not so busy.

This is my kind of course. Nice, very large, old growth trees. Old park next to the Emporia Zoo. The course is not that long, most of the holes are reachable for most players.

You will have to have a map to find your way around. It gets confusing in spots. The park is actually very small with 9 holes crowded into it. There is no way this course could be open in the summer months, the park would be too busy.

Most of the holes can be played with a righty hyzer, but some of the better lines are turnovers or straight shots. For this the course is pretty good.

I enjoyed my round and there were several other golfers out when I was playing on a Thursday evening.

Would I play here again? Actually I would. It's a fun little course to play. Would be good to bring new players out because there really isn't any spots to get into too much trouble and the holes are not too long. Keep an eye out for if and when the course is back in the ground next winter, it's worth a stop.

For a smallish park and moderate rating I wasn't expecting a ton, but this is a fun little beginner friendly(mostly) play just up the road from the beach. Perfect spot to cool off in the shady trees after a day by the water. Or working as I was doing.

The first 10 holes are really pretty with tons of palm and palmetto trees and a decent amount of water. Especially hole 2 that is an island green and the one not very beginner friendly hole on the front.

The final 8 holes are under pine trees and more typically southern park style, and though it's a bit longer than the 180-220 ft holes from the front for the most part they are not harder.

There is a fun mildly elevated pin in 14 though and a couple of low ceiling shots so some skill is required.

Most holes have a bench, almost all hooks to hang your bag and basic signs with course info.

It's kind of pretty and would be a good glow league course if nothing big lives in the pond.

The cons unfortunately are not few. The plot of land isn't big which leads to two issues; a lot of short holes, and holes that are too close to one another. On many holes you could go long into the next fairway and on the final 8 holes a mild tree kick could take you near other players.

There are also mandos in place to keep you away for other park facilities, but it's a little tight for my taste. One of the volleyball kids gets hit by a disc and it's bye bye course.

The signs are fine, but I think the course has undergone a redesign and the new distances are just sharpie on duct tape. Some of which has fallen off and left some very inaccurate distances.

It's not a bad course, but it's not perfect and I doubt it handles heavy traffic well.

It's a fun and quick play, and I would consider hitting it again. If only to get revenge for my lost Stego on hole 2.

- great for beginners or kids
- lots of fun if you don't take yourself too seriously
- easy holes for the target audience
- solid equipment with nice new baskets, full color tee signs with maps, and stone tees
- well cared for park
- longer course on site for those that want a different experience

- safety hazards near playground
- tiny tees
- nothing breaks 200 ft
- not going to hold the interest of anyone looking for an actual challenge
- some may find the holes gimmicky

I decided to stop by this park on my way from Clover Cliff Ranch (phenomenal, must play) up to Omaha. It's right on the route, and a super short 9 holes so why not bag it?

Generally, I despise gimmicky holes, but it's all about intent. This course is clearly designed for children and beginners and for that, it's so fun. Every hole is unique, and while they are super short, a few of them are actually surprisingly hard! Ok, I recorded 2s on a lot of these, but the hole with the mando through the tractor tire got me. That one is brutal. I wouldn't have minded one hole breaking 200 ft to have a more "challenging" kids hole, but it's fine as is.

I also think this would be a good place for special needs kids to try out disc golf - fun, mostly open, not overly complicated, and in a well-developed park.

This course is relatively plain and shouldn't take you longer than 20 minutes to complete. There is a full 18 hole course on the property that didn't look particularly impressive, but I was here for the kiddie course and kept it lighthearted. The Stonehenge hole was also funny. Some of these holes are a bit close to the playground for my liking but given who the course is for and how short the throws are, the safety hazards aren't quite as notable as usual.

Overall, the hardest thing here was how to rate this one. Almost entirely flat but for this course, not sure it matters. As kids/beginner courses go, I'd rate this 4+, but compared to other courses, it's obviously nowhere near there. I settled on a 3 which is probably generous but I don't think you can really compare this course objectively to most others.

If you're in the vicinity, stop by, try it out, and don't take yourself too seriously. This will be a putter/midrange only round. Play alone, or bring your kids, or whatever - it's a ton of fun!