A week ago, I highlighted New Melle as a probable top 3 course in the St. Louis area (in my opinion), and while doing so, I noted a few other recent contenders entering the ring in St. Louis. I noted The Bunker and Creve Coeur-Hillside as courses under construction that could wind up with strong designs, and also noted Sioux Passage as a well-known course I haven't been to in a while. I haven't played every St. Louis course yet, but wasn't sure there was any others out there that were as strong of courses.
And then I played La Vista Park in Godfrey, Illinois.
La Vista Park's location is along Route 3, just a little up the road from Alton. Route 3 has multiple gas stations and a dollar general close to the park, so any snacks or gas you need are easily assessible. Route 3 can also be easily accessed via Illinois 100, which is the highway a lot of folks will likely end up on to get to this course. If that's the case for you, take in the riverside views as you drive along the Mississippi.
Park amenities are pretty straightforward. The park is 93 acres, and is protected by a Forest Legacy Easement. In addition to disc golf, the main feature of the park is a paved walking trail that connects at Delmar/Route 3 and Route 100 down the hill. There are trash cans and benches along the way, as well as picnic tables for park goers to use. The disc golf course uses the land on either side of this trail. I believe there are some non-paved trail options further down the hill as well. The park has a small parking lot at the entrance on Route 3, as well as a port-a-john. In addition to disc golfers, the park gets a lot of traffic on the trail.
The course equipment at La Vista is all brand new and in great shape. At the parking lot, you will find a very large kiosk that has a full map of the course, with some club/league/event info on the opposite side. Hole 1 also has printed scorecards. Being a Gateway Disc Sports design, the Titan baskets are great and catch discs well. There are between 2 and 3 pin placements on each hole. The pictures on DGCR currently are actually a little out of date, as the top ring of the baskets now have yellow bands that note the hole number and also have Bluff City Disc Golf's logo. This coloring really helps the baskets stand out, especially in the woods. There are 3 sets of tees to choose from: Red, White, and Blue. The white tees are concrete and will have the primary sign for each hole. Update - The blue tees on-site are now either concrete or use the pathway, a nice improvement to the course. Red tees will mostly be natural still, though there may be plans to upgrade these in the future I am unaware of.
The signage at La Vista deserves special praise, as this course sports the best signage I have seen on a course yet. Please note that the signs on this website are actually out of date now despite the course being built in 2019; unless someone else gets to it, I'll try to get back soon to add updated photos. Each white tee sports a large sign that includes a large graphic of the hole layout, including all 3 tees and the 2 or 3 pin placements for that hole. The signs also include which in is in use, and a full list of distances for each tee, meaning most of the signs you will see include 9 different distances. Each red and blue tee is also easy noted by a small sign that also includes distances and the pin location in use. The new tee signs also note the par for each tee and pin location, which can range from 3 to 5 on one hole depending on which tee you are using. Some of the longer walks between tees also include directional signs, making navigation pretty easy here. Perhaps my favorite feature are the red, white, and blue arrows that can be found on numerous trees throughout the course to show you where each tee is located as you approach a new hole. The design of these is so beautifully simplistic, and really adds some great character to this course. Overall, the signage should make navigation here a breeze, and should also give you great idea of where you are throwing.
La Vista's course design has been done in a way that makes it accessible and enjoyable for a full range of skill levels. The multiple tees here offer unique rounds from each other more so here than on any other course I have place thus far. The red tees are short enough to provide a fun experience that will still test newer players that may not have the technical throws or power required for the white or blue tees yet. Meanwhile, many of the blue tees offer substantial additional challenges to the reds or whites, whether that be with additional distance, tighter lines, or the angle of the opening drive. Hole 15 is a great example of this. The red tees offer a short and open approach, while the white tee is pushed over 150 feet back at the entrance to the woods, with the blue tee being a similar distance as the white but being placed on more extreme angle to challenge a player's RHBH hyzer distance. I also appreciate that some of the holes combine the white and blue tees where there just isn't enough room to offer 3 different drive options, just as some holes only have 2 pin placements due to the same reason. Sometimes, less is more.
As the course description states, La Vista offers a mix of open and wooded holes, providing plenty of variety on your round here. The course has a really nice progression in difficulty to it as well. Holes 1, 2, and 3 are mostly open holes and aren't too long. Then, holes 4 through 7 are wooded technical holes that vary in length. As a whole, the front 9 is fairly short. Then, the back 9 provides longer distances and more par 4s and 5s while mixing the open and wooded holes. What's nice about La Vista is that there's a mix of short and long holes both when it comes to the open holes and the wooded ones. The gold placements on holes 4 and 7 were in use on my round, requiring intentional 300+ foot drives. These were complimented by short but tough short shots on 5 and 6. On the other end of things, holes 1 and 16 offer relatively short open drives, while other holes like 11 and 15 offer long open shots that still require some strategy to your approaches. Even 1 and 16 are tricky, as a shot with too much hyzer can land you in rough, but the trees on the left side of these holes keep you from hooking a drive too much.
This course has plenty of highlights that could be listed. Hole 11 if a true bomber hole that requires careful 2nd throw placement depending on which pin is in use. Hole 15's two furthest placements incorporate great risk/reward situations, as they are placed along a ditch and a drop off behind the gold placement that can punish a missed run. 12 is a great, long, wooded shot over a valley that will penalize early tree hits. Lastly, hole 4 from the white/blue tee offers a fun downhill wooded drive that intimidates you with 2 trees placed early in the fairway, making for a real mind game for golfers.