Initially listed as Schaumburg DGC, this 9 hole, dual tee, city park course with plenty of water in play is now Walnut DGC. The property used to be a par 3, 9 hole, ball golf course and as such is largely flat with sparse mature trees. Those shortcomings are partly offset by the large pond, smaller pond, and basket placements that take full advantage of what elevation change exists.

It's clear from the first hole that this isn't your normal Chicago suburban 9er. The first 4 holes play adjacent to the main pond with forced carries from most of the long tees. Hole 8 also brings the water into play (much more so from the longs). The 4 holes without water in play are a nice break from the disc loss risk. The course strikes a good balance in this regard.

I'm impressed with the design. This is not a large park and the ponds eats up half of the space, but somehow none of the tee shots really feel like you're in danger of pushing the property line. Additionally, looking at how few trees there are, I was expecting ho hum golf outside of the water danger. Surprisingly there are only a few holes that allow easy rhbh hyzer plays (and most of those have water in play).

In most cases, the shorts require mostly straight throws while the longs up the variety a bit. Long 3 and 8 play as par 4s and both are solid. Hole 3 long plays as a very slight dogleg left where you tee from OB and aim to land on a fairway bordered on the left with the large pond and on the right with a few mature trees and an OB path. Big arms could absolutely go for the green from the tee, but the green is pinched between the water and the path much more than the fairway. The first throw on hole 8 long is completely open (unless you push long), but has water all down the right side. The second shot is through a gap in some moderately sized trees and across a narrow stream/pond. There's a mando to prevent players from throwing over the water and 3's basket from the tee to reach the 2nd half of the fairway. That shot isn't available unless you can throw an almost 400' rhbh hyzer, so at least there shouldn't be many tempted to ignore the mando.

Equipment is generally quite nice featuring DGA Mach 7 baskets (with painted rungs to direct you to the short and longs tees, descriptive tee signs (at the longs only as of my last visit) and two large flags near the main pond to help with wind reads. While the tees are concrete and level, I would have preferred them to be a bit longer.

The biggest con for this course is the property. There was only so much that can be done with a largely flat, small parcel with few trees.

Even from the shorts, this course could be very frustrating for beginners. The chances of losing a disc out here are pretty high. Lots of water in play and it's far from clear with a bunch of debris on the bottom. This course is quite exposed to the prevailing winds and it's been fairly gusty 2 of the 3 times I've played.

As mentioned above, the tees could use to be a couple of feet longer. In most cases, there's relatively level ground behind the tee to extend your runup, but a couple have a slight rise starting immediately behind the tee. Starting behind the tee on those holes would result in an awkward run up and I'm curious to see if water accumulates during the wet season.

In this part of the country, ponds mean geese and you'll encounter the evidence. I've definitely seen worse though.

While it might seem like we are tripping over courses in the Chicago suburbs, this one lands in one of the few holes on the map. It's also the best 9 hole course in a pretty wide radius.

If you're not a consistently accurate thrower in varying wind conditions, do yourself a favor and bring a few discs that you wouldn't mind donating to the ponds.

- Amazing property for disc golf, especially in the fall!

- Not a pitch & putt beginner 9. This course is designed for today's modern game of disc golf with a design that will help you improve your game.

- Park is dedicated to disc golf.

- Strong flow from hole to hole.

- Park is fenced with a six foot chain link fence that should stop most discs from going OB.

- Brand new Mach V baskets including a practice basket.

- A lot of parking and a building in the park that would make for a cool pro-shop.

- Course is maintained well and is part of a great Park District.

Shorts
- Really fun set of nine beginner/intermediate disc golf holes.
- Awesome pin locations from the tee. The only hole you can't see the basket from the tee is also the shortest hole on the course.
- Hole 8 on the shorts is the stand-out hole with a great look from the tee and a water hazard hiding just out of sight.
- Hole 2 short is also a great hole with a water carry and a potential death putt.
- Stellar basket positions especially on holes 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8.
- If you play carefully, you won't lose a disc on the shorts.

Longs
- The Longs are the most challenging 9-holes I've played in the area. Eight of the nine holes would be the signature hole on any other 9-hole course in the area (Hole 5 doesn't make the cut)

- Rarely are the long tees just a slightly longer version of the short tee. Most offer a completely different challenge.
- Excellent shot shapes and lines on the longs. Considering how few trees are in the park the designer really made them count.

- Multiple tees have strong risk/reward options off the tee.
- Excellent use of OB, especially with the cart path between holes 3 & 7.

- No maps on the tee signs. I heard they are coming but just the hole number and the distance for now.

- The water OB on holes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 will probably cost you a disc or two, especially on the longs. Bring water discs.
- No water on site, and only a port-a-potty.
- A gate to the parking lot for the 7-11 would be nice.
- Only a single trash can by the first tee. More trash cans are needed!
- People fishing don't yet know where the discs are going to fly. Sometimes they're in the way but they seem pretty friendly about it.
- There's a red tail hawk that isn't happy we're playing disc golf in their park. It is dropping half dead rodents from trees.

Schaumburg Park District turned a mediocre 9-hole par 3 ball golf course into a really amazing 9-hole dedicated disc golf course. Rather than trying to pack 18 short holes into the property, they went with a much smarter approach; a dual-tee 9-hole course with a lot of distinctions between the short tees and the long tees.



This is not a course designed for 1980s style disc golf. Rather it is a course that will challenge disc golfers to improve their game. The course offers some of the best use of water OB in the Chicagoland area, fun tee and basket placements and a great selection of shots.



It's worth the drive.

- fairly well maintained park
- dual concrete tees
- brand new Mach V baskets
- good length for a nine hole course
- some of the highest quantity of water hazards I've seen on a niner
- some mild rolling hills incorporated for elevation change
- area mostly devoted to disc golf; no major safety hazards
- decent amenities: porta potty, vending machines, practice basket, ample parking
- water hazards force careful shot selection and variety of throws despite relatively open nature

- not a ton of tree obstacles; fairly open outside of water hazards
- near busy streets; noise takes away from experience
- no particular wow factor

Schaumburg DGC is a brand new 9 hole course set on the property of a former 9 hole ball golf course. I don't usually like ball golf converts, but this one doesn't scream ball golf, and the water hazards make up for the fairly open nature of the course.

Some notes that I'm not really counting as a pro or con - 1) some of the sand traps from this area's legacy as a ball golf course are still sort of visible/intact. No strong opinion here. 2) tee signs are not installed yet - the course is brand new, so not holding this against it, though I cannot evaluate the quality of the tee signs as a factor in the rating.

The highlight here is definitely the water hazards, which come into play on 5 of the 9 holes. Hole 2 in particular is a cool challenge: you have to throw hard enough to clear the portion of the lake you are by, but if you overthrow on your putt/approach you go right downhill into more water. This was set up well to provide a good challenge. While the other water hazards are neat, if you have any control over your drives you won't find them terribly difficult. Otherwise, the course has some nice, mild rolling hills to add some interest, but isn't too terribly difficult. There is good length for a nine hole course, and you will do some walking. It probably took me about 45 minutes to play solo, but I was learning the course and documenting it a bit so something like 35 minutes is probably more typical.

There are limited tree obstacles but nothing very technical here. Amenities are good but the course doesn't blow you away in any particular way. It is near residential areas, but the holes were laid out well so none of the throws really approach the perimeter fences unless you really lose one. There is a cart path from the old course through this park, but it may never be used besides maintenance. There are 2 bridges built in over the lake which help with traversal; you don't have to walk too far out of your way.

I played here just a bit after sunrise but by the time I left I saw 2 more people - this is fairly atypical. It's speculation, but this course may be a bit busier than some during peak times. Overall, this is a solid course but is pretty typical of Chicago niners; nothing to go out of the way for.