Geneseo, IL

Richmond Hill Park

3.55(based on 12 reviews)
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5 0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.5 years 1165 played 745 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 20, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is set up in a quiet park in a pretty much disc golf exclusive section. There is a soccer field by hole 8 I believe it was, other than that it seemed DG exclusive. The Baskets are Mach 3's that are in pretty good shape. They catch alright though. Two basket locations on almost every hole. Two concrete tee pads per hole. Blues being the long and whites being the shorts. These were all level and grippy. Not the biggest I've seen but plenty big enough for this place. The tee signs are really nice. They all have a large basic hole layout showing each tee and pin position. They also have hole number and both pin distances from both sets of tees. The course was very clean and the grass was mowed nicely throughout. There wasn't a single other person out there on a Tuesday afternoon. Probably not ever going to be to busy of a course. There is a nice large course map on the kiosk by hole 1. Elevation is going to be your main obstacle here. There are a number of uphill and downhill shots throughout. There are a few holes that play around the edge of the wooded section. Hole 9 is the only real wooded hole, that also has a creek that runs along the right side.

Cons:

The main con here is just the repetitiveness of the course overall. While there a couple nice wooded holes, the rest are just pretty much open but hilly shots. That being said I feel they did the best possible job they could with the available land. One more con would be that if you don't have a map it can be a bit confusing going from hole to hole in a few spots. Nothing too major but worth mentioning.

Other Thoughts:

This isn't worth a trip too far out of your way to play but isn't a bad course overall. It is only a couple of minutes off the expressway. It is a fun course but just don't expect it to blow you away. It's a pretty typical city park course. Just way hillier.
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4 0
AHagglund
Experience: 17.5 years 77 played 19 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Come on, Who doesn't love hill shots? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 17, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

I have played a lot of courses in the QCA, but had never gotten out to Richmond Hills, in part because the pictures on this website made it look like a rather boring pitch and putt. On a whim, I decided to check it out and was glad I did.

The course layout has changed completely from whenever the pictures were taken. The course length from the long tees is right around 7000' and the shorts were probably a little under 5000'. I felt it played even a bit longer due to the relatively high number of steep uphill throws.

It was great fun playing bombs away from the pro tees and while the Am tees weren't bad, the course's extreme elevation contrasts were more interesting from the long tees in my opinion.

1)course is in a city park, a two minute drive from most of the city's services
2) park is clean and well-maintained.
3) there is a nice map by hole one that includes updated hole information
4) Obviously great elevation change throughout
5) Anyone who says they don't like hole 17 is lying.
6) Even though this would not be considered a wooded course, there are plenty of trees to knock down or punish off-target throws.

The biggest compliment I can give a course is that I enjoyed playing all of the holes, and Richmond Hills passes this test. After playing a round, I immediately wanted to play again (and did). Even though there are valid criticisms of the course, none of them affected my enjoyment at all.

Cons:

1) The numbers on the baskets aren't correct and long tee pads have no signage which made navigation slightly tricky. Wasn't too bad, though.
2) it is what it is. Those who prefer shorter, more technical courses probably won't care for it.
3) Lack of variety. I didn't notice this when I was playing. But reflecting back, in my two rounds I only threw 5 discs from the long tees (OS/stable/US distance driver, Buzzz, putter) and from the short tees I had only thrown THREE until hole 18 which brought it up to four.

Other Thoughts:

Of the many quality courses with 20 miles, it is my second favorite to play, behind only Camden 2 in Milan and just ahead of Middle Park in Bettendorf.
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1 3
Trashcat
Experience: 16.3 years 15 played 2 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Cluster 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 10, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Long, challenging shots. A few aceable holes. Maintained well.

Cons:

Layout was confusing, so make sure you take someone who knows the layout. Pads and baskets scattered throughout the course making it difficult to figure out what you're shooting at. Thick underbrush in the woody portions, so be certain you're staying on the fairway.
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1 15
BrandonD
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Like it alot 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 24, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Just the right amount of trees and hills. Less bugs than most other courses I have played.

Cons:

20 miles from Moline. Only a handful of holes with alternate tees.

Other Thoughts:

Glad to hear they are working on course improvements. More holes with alternate tees would also be interesting.
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2 1
FightingIllinut
Experience: 11.5 years 24 played 6 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Very little room for improvement 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 21, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

UPDATE 9/1/2013 - New course layout. This course is now much longer with 5 holes in the 450-850 ft range. Although it is a mostly open course you will need to have decent control of your shots off the tee to score well due to great use of large trees and limbs that always seem to be blocking what would otherwise be an easy shot.

Richmond Hill is a beautiful course that reminds me more of a golf course style layout than a true forest tunnel course so if that is what you are after look elsewhere. Great use of the moderate trees and severe elevation changes. Wind is often heavier here than it is in town. Most of this course is lawn quality turf, and mowed regularly. Most holes require some control and precision on your tee shot in order to score well due to well placed trees that require hyzer here, anhyzer there and a long straight glide on others. Several baskets are tucked along the treeline so risking a "go for" birdie that is beyond your comfort range is a high risk/reward situation. The use of the treeline OB is cause for concern on about half the holes.

Cons:

UPDATE - New tee signs and scorecards coming soon!!

Course changes that slightly altered the layout have led to confusion since many tees and baskets are misnumbered. Follow the map for an enjoyable round.

Other Thoughts:

This course has everything except a large lake. If it were located in the Quad City metro area there would be 10 groups on it at all times but since it is 25 miles from Moline there are usually no more than a group or two on it. Never seen a mosquito here (played 50+ times) and never seen poison ivy either.
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2 0
4_Of_Spades
Experience: 16.4 years 36 played 28 reviews
3.50 star(s)

The Hills of Geneseo 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Located right off of interstate. Nice pit stop driving to see my sister at Augustana College.

Lots of hills and elevation use on many holes.

Baskets just okay and tee pads are pretty good.

Mix of moderately wooded and open holes with rolling hills.

Was the only one playing the two times I was there.

Some nice scenery ignoring the interstate when the sun sets.

Good balance of RHBH and RHFH holes.

Quite a hike going up and down hills on the back 9, but it gets you in shape.

Cons:

Signs are terrible. First time I played I had no idea what hole I was on or what tee pad went where. I just kind of pieced it together and it worked out. The signs were a number higher than the basket they were for so I think I found 20 holes that fit what I was doing.

Navigation hard due to signs but the second time I played I think I figured out the general idea of it.

Course seems to be forgotten. I don't know how much people play it, but the holes offer different looks than other courses around and adding some good signs and mapping out the layout would be beneficial to the course.

Other Thoughts:

I really liked this course after I got a chance to play it again. The across the park shot for hole 19 (at least that is what I think it is) is a great shot down the hills of the whole park. Along with the other elevation shots this course has, it is worth it to play here and I will be stopping here many times in the future.
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8 1
notapro
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.3 years 571 played 284 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Beginner/Intermediate 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 8, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Course is set in a large hilly park, with a ton of space devoted to the disc golf. A hole plays around a gazebo, and some others are close to another pavilion, but otherwise it is well separated. A few holes by a residential area too, no big deal.
- A fair amount of holes are set in more open, hilly areas, with little to no trees in the way. However, the elevation changes are definitely enough to keep it interesting. Two over-the-valley shots, with the baskets on the peak across the way. Other blind uphill and downhill shots with a few trees to avoid, and a good downhill shot on #20.
- Most of the other holes contain large patches of forest in addition to mature trees, which definitely adds challenge. #5 is a downhill shot, right-sloping fairway, with the basket situated next to schule on the right. #7 has a left-sloping fairway with forest on the right, and water on the left. A few obvious RHBH hyzers and annys are present thanks to the forest, with a few tucked pins as well.
- Some of the holes are pretty darn tight, usually due to a combination of low hanging trees, forest, and/or elevation changes. #9 is a simple RHFH flick, but the shot has to be low to get out of the tee area. #13 is a tight downhill anny, with trees forming a tunnel. #19 is a decent uphill, with low branches, a pretty small window to hit to make it to the pin.
- Serious hazards are present here, with some hilly areas and some water. A few holes are next to a small creek, with #7 being the most dangerous on the fairway. Otherwise, it comes into play next to some baskets in the woods. The basket to #13 has no water, but a nasty, nasty rollaway. Overshooting the basket on this short hole can be a nightmare!
- Good teepads and baskets. Signage is a little iffy; the tee signs are off by a hole for most of the round, or missing. Can be tough to find some of the pro tees. Needs to be updated from an apparent redesign. Still, the numbers on the baskets are right, and I didn't have too much trouble following the flow.

Cons:

- There are a lot of open shots here, with a few to no obstacles to get in the way. The elevation changes add some flavor, but not a whole bunch. I would say maybe 8 of the holes don't have much in the way of obstacles. On the other hand, a lot of the tighter holes are really short. Those that play into and around the woods are all around 200', give or take.

Other Thoughts:

- Hard to come up with cons for this course; there is a little bit of everything here! But, I had the feeling that it was a mild sampling of each. There were open holes with elevation changes, but nothing too crazy. Some heavily wooded holes with interesting lines, but also very short. Definitely a few tough, memorable holes (like #7 and #18), but also some blander ones. A great course for beginners or more experienced players, but expert discers will find some holes much too easy.
- Not sure if my numbers jive with the layout, I think I figured it out ok... never did find the teepad for #21 either. Still, not a big deal when I played.
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4 0
mykeg44
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.4 years 72 played 45 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 7, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course features a great variety of shots... among the best I've played, but there are some serious flaws that bring its rating down. It's still a very enjoyable course with some awesome elevation shots, wooded shots, and water hazards.

The course starts out well with a cool hill to hill shot, then moves into a flatter area of the park for three holes. #5 begins a series of shots that plays along a large area of thick underbrush that separates the park from I-80. There is a fairly secluded feel to this course as you get further into it (with the exception of the highway noise). #9 moves into a a more wooded section of the course with a creek as a water hazard.

The course moves back to the top of the hill for #12 where there are some mediocre midrange shots mixed with some fun but short uphill/downhill shots.

#20 is an all-timer of a hole. You tee off from the top of the park, with a view of the entire park and surrounding area. The shot is over two other hills at the basket located about 350ft down into the valley on top of another small hill. Awesome.

All holes have concrete tees, and there are benches and garbage cans at various tees throughout the course. The park is nicely landscaped and clean. There wasn't another disc golfer in sight on a saturday afternoon in the summer, so it doesn't seem like this course gets a lot of traffic.

Cons:

This was probably the worst course, navigation-wise, I've ever played. At least 3-4 holes were completely missing tee signs (including #1 and the signature hole #20). Every other tee sign was numbered differently from the basket. There are also areas where it's not at all clear where the next tee is and without "next tee" signs, we were walking around with no idea where to go for a few minutes before we finally found the next tee. This completely cuts down on the fun factor.

Holes 10, 12 an 13 were filler holes that did not live up to the challenge of the rest of the course. All three are short little deuce or dies, that just don't seem to fit in.

Holes 2-4 play through a smaller area of the park near a shelter and some other ball fields, so there was some pedestrian traffic we had to worry about.

For new players, there's some pretty severe punishment here. Many of the shots in the middle section of the course (#5-#11) play close to a lot of thick underbrush and water hazards, so there is a lot of potential for lost discs.

Other Thoughts:

This course has legitimate 4-star potential, but the navigation issues are a killer. With some more attention, this could one of the better courses in the state, but as it stands now, it's just a good course.

With that said, it's still worth playing if you're willing to deal with some of the frustrations (or if you can find a guide). It's right off I-80, so if you're heading to, or in the Quad Cities, it's along the way.
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10 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.7 years 831 played 777 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Up n down 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 9, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through a large mostly disc dedicated area with a mix of open grassy fields with scattered mature trees and some wooded areas. Most of the holes play on a large central hill in the park, making good use of the elevation. There is a great mix of shots playing up and down the hill, with some playing across the slope or from one hill to another with a drop in between.

There are a couple ace runs here, and a couple longer holes where you can rip a drive with room to let it sail. The wooded holes do a good job of forcing some left to right and right to left shots to make you use a little more variety in your shots.

The nice large concrete tees are in good shape and have a nice texture on them. Most of the holes have signs with distance and layout of the hole. There are several places on the course with next tee signs to help with navigation. The baskets were a little older but still caught fine. The park was nicely maintained, with mowed grass and no trash around.

Cons:

Despite the help of a couple next tee signs, there were places on the course where it was not clear where to go next. This was exacerbated by the recent redesign which left the numbering on the tees and baskets out of whack and the map outdated. There were no tee signs on the new holes at the end of the course, so it was a little tough to follow.

There is cool elevation here, but there wasn't a single long downhill hole where you could really let it go off the hill. It seemed like there were more holes playing uphill than downhill, which adds to the challenge but makes it a little less fun. A few too many of the holes were pretty open and in the same general distance range, so the course got a little repetitive.

A few holes play really close to a street, the freeway, a parking lot and a playground, so be a little careful driving on those holes. There are supposedly long tees for the course, but the ones we found were natural and not very well maintained, the rest seemed very difficult to find if they were there at all. Several of the concrete tee pads were poured on pretty good slopes which can make for an awkward run up.

Other Thoughts:

Beginners will find this course challenging to their game, and perhaps their stamina. There is enough length to make it challenging for a new player without being ridiculous. More experienced players won't find the course too terribly challenging, though there are some fun holes and some places where playing the elevation and the wind can be tricky.

This is a fun course, and worth a stop if you're in the area. It's not worth a trip from a distance on it's own, but if you come to the quad cities it's worth putting on your list to play.
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4 1
dspeer88
Experience: 7 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 10, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

very hilly, and windy all the time, major elevation changes, nice people out there. Long and short tees on almost all holes, baskets are marked,

Cons:

Signs and map are outdated new holes sprang up where there used to not be a hole, old holes are gone, but typically you can figure it out,

very open very little tunnel shots

Other Thoughts:

All that really needs to happen is the signs need redone as well as map, but otherwise great course, im from geneseo played it a lot after school, and a lot since, sits right off interstate, so its very easy to find, and food is close by when finished
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10 0
#19325
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.4 years 351 played 178 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Got Hill? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 18, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Geneseo has some very nice sized hills that add great elevation changes. You can see the course from the interstate and it's just a few minutes off it. It is a well kept park and the fairways are nicely mowed. There are scattered trees with some thick rough in a few areas. A creek comes into play on several holes. Roads and a fence also add quite a bit of out of bounds.

Elevation changes make for very fun holes. Lots of downhill and uphill shots as well as a few across hill shots. Several putting greens are very tough with drastic drop offs.

Has a good variety with short cement tee pads and long natural tee pads. There is a good balance of distances.

Nice concrete tee pads and tee signs.

This is fun par 54 golf.

Cons:

The course can be difficult to navigate in a few areas. A couple of changes were made last year.

One of my favorite par 4 holes was eliminated.

Long tees are natural and can be hard to find.

Lack of tunnel shots. This course is pretty open.

Interstate traffic noise.

Other Thoughts:

Check out my Illinois Top 10.
http://discontinuum.org/index...1486.msg68704#msg68704
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6 3
bygwyllay
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.5 years 93 played 78 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Va Va Voom! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 11, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very hilly! Beautiful course with mad elevation changes and tough approach shots against trees and the river running through the course. Some holes are a straight shot uphill, and others provide awesome downhill action. Pro and Am tees on most holes. Tees are marked and all baskets are labeled. Low vandalism. Friendly people to play a round with.

Cons:

Very hilly! I'm out of shape and this course kicked my ass. Definitely worth it though. Hole #3 is right along I-80, so be careful not to misthrow - barbed wire is not your friend. Gnats are a problem down by the river; bug spray is recommended. Course map is unreliable. I missed holes 11 and 12 because of it.

Other Thoughts:

This course is right off of the freeway so it's a great spot to pull off and play a round on your way into the Quad Cities. Definitely will play again next time I'm through.
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