This course would get a 1.5 if we were not expecting a beginner course.

Pros: We WERE expecting a beginner course! The adjacent big course at Urbana Hilltop is very well established 18 hole beauty. This little 9 hole called "the Valley" is new. We wanted to take our 6 year old daughter to check out the new kids course and she loved it!! So this review is kinda from her perspective.

Beautiful and well maintained public park with cut green grass, mature trees lining a stream.

Concrete Tpads

Nice TSigns

Well groomed green grassy fairways with no rough or weeds to speak of. No lost discs or thorns or ticks. No time wasted searching. No overgrown brush or trees on the greens. Feels safe to let toddlers run around while their older siblings play disc golf.

Nice bright yellow Innova baskets

No holes over 250'

Avg hole distance 191' and all par 3s.

Empty, safe, clean, grassy wide open, breezy

Near a pavillion, nice playground, and awesome standard 18 hole disc golf course .

No elevation- but thats not bad for beginners

No punishing rough for errant throws. No punishment if you "miss your line". But that is also the point of a beginner course. its VERY forgiving. Backhand, forehand, friendly. No set lines.

This new little 9 hole next to the playground was built many years AFTER the big 18 hole Hilltop was well established. This Valley 9 hole is a way to introduce new players to the sport without discouraging them with the challenges will all love next door at the Hilltop course. No elevation, no rough, no hills, no doglegs, no thorns, no long hikes, no bombs, no tunnels. Just grass, wind, and baskets down there. For what it is, its actually better than my 3.5 rating. A perfect way to encourage new players.

Also Hole 1 is 130' ace run. That is an exciting way to start a round if you can only 170".

The water is a nice obstacle on 2 holes but not dangerous. It is a clean little stream only about 1 foot deep. A fun obstacle without the risk of losing a disc, which is a bummer even if youre not a beginner.

As a complement to the decently hilly, challenging, and fun, 18 hole 'Hilltop' course, Melvin Miller park in Urbana now also has a beginner friendly, nine hole option in the flats between the soccer fields and the skate park. There is a nice course kiosk / map, benches, great signs, reasonably sized, level concrete tees, and discatcher baskets. There is NO rough, and only a few trees, and two holes cross the main drainage ditch.

Beginners will be able to experiment with a wide variety of throws, try out new discs, and learn the basics of disc golf with literally no chance of losing a disc and nearly no chance of hitting anybody else while they play. The holes are well spaced from each other, and form a convenient loop you will likely complete in about 20-30 minutes. Since I generally think about safety, fun, and then challenge in courses (in that order), I had to consider this a 5, 2, 1 for those categorizations. Just know coming in that if you are coming for a visit, and throw anywhere above novice level skills, you'll be heading to the Hilltop after warming up on the birdie bash / ace race course that is the Valley.

Unfortunately, the experience you can expect here in the 'Valley' will be a lot of "lather, rinse, repeat...": when every hole is essentially flat, wide open, and over 70% of them are within 10 meters of a 200 foot putter / mid ace run, you shouldn't plan for any variety (unless a strong wind is blowing, and you have to adjust as the course turns around beneath your feet). If you use a cart, you might need to use the bridge to the left of 7 if the ditch has any significant water in it. Otherwise, it's just a long stride across.

Following the directions in, if you come in through the park's main entrance, you're going to want to turn right at the traffic circle, then left before the dog park, and the first tee is on the left by the large gravel parking area. Final thought: I managed to visit on a freakishly, wonderful, cool, dry, July day, hit two baskets in a row ('near aces'), then saw a biplane fly just overhead, and really thought "...what a cool experience!" ...so I didn't mind that the course was, shall we say, 'simple. I had fun, and that's what matters.