Pros:
- well maintained and clean property
- high quality Dynamic Patriot baskets
- nice incorporation of water hazards on holes 7 and 8
- a decent mix of hole lengths for a church course
- a few limited dips incorporated
- hole 9 ends pretty close to parking lot where tee 1 is
Cons:
- natural tees
- tee indicators are small reflectors with a hole number on them
- first three holes play right along road
- holes 1-5 are pretty wide open and repetitive
- almost entirely flat
- unclear navigation between holes 3 and 4
Other Thoughts:
It's hard to find much to say about this course. As church courses go, it's actually fairly decent. It is going to be boring for anyone besides a beginner and is very repetitive, but it at least has some good quality baskets. The tee "signs" (more like indicators) could use an upgrade and aren't the easiest to see from a distance.
The biggest con here is the course is mostly wide open and flat and besides holes 7 and 8, and perhaps to a lesser extent 6, they all look about the same. It's fine for a quick, casual round or for beginners but anyone else will be underwhelmed. I think the second biggest con is the safety factor - holes 1-3 throw pretty close to a road with decent traffic. It's a wide fairway, but given the average throwers are likely to be beginner churchgoers, an errant disc in the road seems like a high probability and something that should have been designed out.
Navigation is mostly straightforward except for the long walk across the parking lot between holes 3 and 4. You have to walk back from the basket for 3 near the road towards the greenhouses to find the stick for hole 4.
The pond is well incorporated as a minor water hazard for holes 7 and 8, with limited water carries that can be avoided by throwing around if desired. Note - this pond has leeches in it, so I don't advise entering - I pulled a disc out that was covered in them and decided I was just leaving this one on top of the next basket rather than scraping all the muck off to see if it had a name.
Overall, this is not one of the better courses in the northwest suburbs, but mediocre 9 holes seem to be the MO. I think this might be between a 1 and 1.5, really, but the property is very well maintained and has high quality baskets; there is really nothing wrong with the course besides the safety hazards on holes 1-3.
This course was deserted when I played and I expect it will always be that way unless there is a church event going on. I wouldn't advise showing up on a Sunday morning, but outside of that you should have it to yourself.