Pros:
- nice concrete tees
- good incorporation of creek on holes 2 and 4 for some added challenge
- good distance on most holes
- some good elevation change on about 1/3 of the holes
- great high quality tee signs with full color maps and alternate pin positions shown
- multiple pin positions on each hole (only one populated at a time)
- some garbage cans and benches
- most of the course is mowed fairly well
- nice quiet area to connect with nature - moving water, squirrels, trees, etc.
- larger oak trees are a nice change from all the maples everywhere
Cons:
- some mowing of high grasses could be better
- could use some next tee signs, will benefit from a map
- start of course is a bit hidden/odd by Streamwood city buildings
- some walking path hazards, but park is generally quite empty
- 8-10' tall marsh grasses on 7, 8, and 11 are pretty rough
- no practice basket, no restrooms
- no numbers on baskets doesn't help navigation
Other Thoughts:
The reviewer who called it Sunny Marsh is right - half this course is shaded by large oak trees, and the other half you're getting baked on your head and soaked on your feet in marshland. This is a pretty unique course and overall I'd say I enjoyed it, though with some caveats.
The skill level here seems intermediate, and hole distances are generally average, with the exception of hole 15 at over 700' which clearly exists just to join 2 disparate parts of the course together. I typically don't care for extra long wide open holes like this, but I get it. The rest of the holes had some reasonable technical challenge and some ok elevation change- in both cases nothing incredible. The entire course seemed to have a lot of downed branches, presumably from recent storms, but that may not be the case all the time.
The marsh part of this course is interesting, especially being pretty close to Black Bear Park which is the only other "marsh" course I've seen. In a way, I love this because it's something that 's uniquely Illinois and shows what we can bring to disc golf that not everyone can. That said, it's kind of brutal to play in. This was a new record for me in terms of plant height - if you throw your disc in the marsh plants, some of them are easily 8-10' tall to the point where you could honestly lose your sense of direction hunting through them. Miraculously, I somehow completed this round with all of my discs despite a few majorly errant throws. This is definitely a good challenge, but one of the most frustrating types of disc hunts I've seen. Your feet will also get soaked if you have to go into the marshes at all - and sometimes even if you don't, as there is some very tall unmowed grass areas that can be soaking wet, particularly in the morning.
Hole 11 was definitely my least favorite - this hole shares a tee with the walking path, which isn't really ideal but is certainly not unheard of. However, you throw over tall marsh grasses to a rather blind landing out in the open. There is a flag to mark the basket, but it's hard to judge how far you have to throw to clear the marsh grasses, and you can't see where your disc lands so finding it can be a bit challenging. If you aren't confident in your throwing ability, this would be the one to skip.
If you happen to be on the other side of the course, it's easy to enter the park from Oltendorf Rd. and play starting at hole 14 and end at hole 13.
Safety issues here were pretty minimal, but you do have to be aware of the walking path on some holes. Navigation wasn't too bad but was a bit unclear at times. To get to hole 9, as you are walking up the hole 8 green there is a bridge to your left through the marsh grasses. If you can see the hole 8 basket you've gone too far, so this isn't totally obvious. Similarly, on hole 11 after you tee off you can cut through the marsh on some old pallets to your right, though they're a bit broken down.
I would probably come back and play this course again if I was in the area, but you have to be mentally prepared to lose discs and/or get wet. It's a cool course with some reasonable challenge and distance but definitely not one I'd want to play weekly, I think it would just start to wear on me. Overall, it's worth giving it a shot.