- Park is beautiful
- Outside of distance, a beginner like me had several throws which were challenging such as over the water throws, between a number of trees, 1 parking area, etc.
- Wide open park
- Signs were overall decent

- Hole #2 basket is missing and from reviews elsewhere seems it has been for a while. A bit of a bummer as the layout for hole #2 is pretty nice.
- Hole #4 plays over a bit of a parking area
- As noted above park setting and size of park is beautiful and is a multi-use park. As a result, this park is busy so if thinking of playing suggesting going early morning or will likely have some interference with other park patrons.

- Hole #9 is actually quite a bit shorter and a par 3 than what photos in media show. It is now 313 feet. Looks like it was shortened to avoid throwing over the walkways and parking area. Tee Box has been moved from original spot.

This course was actually quite a bit better than I was expecting. Very challenging layout with quite a bit of OB (much of it very well placed) and some decent distance required. Good tees and baskets rounded out the little extras and the park is quite beautiful - actually a park I had been throwing discs in about 10+ years ago!

Many holes have pretty low ceilings forcing powershots and skips to reach the pins. Hole 8 is a classic woodsy hole with multiple lines that is a bit of a rarity in NW Illinois.

Some of the holes have infringing foliage ceilings that *may be getting a bit too low, hard to judge with only one round.

The major drawback to this course though is the extensive opportunity for adverse interactions with other park users. MANY of the holes play right over busy walking paths and some of these require lots of scouting to make sure you aren't going to hit anyone. It seems only a matter of time before someone gets hit by a careless golfer likely leading to a redesign or yankage. Likewise, several holes back right up to busy parking lots and for RHBH throwers are in a prime location for hitting cars with fast plastic.

Overall, I was quite impressed with this course even on the busy day we played it. Didn't see any other golfers out probably because it is so new but it does seem well cared for. Go play it (and don't be 'the guy' who makes a careless throw and gets it pulled!)!

Some interesting shots involving water.

-All par 3s despite great variation in distance (180 feet to 460 feet)
-difficult to navigate from one hole to the other because it's not clear where each tee is
-difficult to know exactly where the basket is for some of the holes because you just can't see them from the tee
-shots over the roadway on 3 holes
-shots over pathways with pedestrian traffic on most holes

I live in the Rockford area and would easily choose other courses rather than this one. Kirkland is nearby. Marengo is nearby. Rockford College is nearby. Anna Page is a little ways, but well worth the ride. This course would be a place to play if I lived within a block or two. But if I have to drive, why not go to a good course?

course has some very long shots that carry some water, which brings a challenge to the game

pars are awful with what they have set for distance
very easy to lose a disc

if im in the area and REALLY REALLY wanted to frolf i guess i would go again

- Course is set in a decent sized city park, with lots of activities present. There are playgrounds, pavilions, benches, walking path, fishing pond, etc. etc. Expect to wait on some holes on a nice day.
- Majority of the holes use an extensive amount of trees to force lots of line shaping. Hole #1 is probably the most open, with decent room for a RHBH flex shot or similar, or just a straight shot. Other holes are more open for a RHBH hyzer, like #4, #5, #7, and #9. #3 has a low canopy off the tee to contend with, and #9 works well with a lay-up hyzer or a bombed RHFH flex shot. A lot of chances to get creative on all of these holes, the obvious line is there but it's not mandatory.
- #2 and #6 add some challenge with water; in both cases the disc is going over the pond at some point. #6 is friendly to a straight/right fading shot, with a forgiving window to get through. #2 is a lot tougher, with a tight window to hit, and a longer water carry that has to finish hyzer. A short shot with enough fade (RHBH) may make dry land, but it's no guarantee!
- Minor elevation changes are present throughout, with a small hill to get over on #2, and slightly elevated teepads on #4, #5, and #9. Some sloping greens as well, like on #2 and #5.
- Great mix of hole lengths, there are real bombers out here, especially with some low ceilings and other obstacles. #3 and #9 need some serious D for any chance at a deuce, at 460' and 463'.
- Water provides real hazards, and there is also a TON of walking path/road/man-made OB. While I am not a big fan of scraping up my discs on pavement, it made #9 much more interesting.
- Grippy teepads, great signage, and good baskets. Navigation easy, with some help (like a pointer to #9's teepad). The tee sign to #2 was backwards when I played; I was able to lift it out of the ground and turn it around. Darn punks!

- Biggest con here was the insane amount of foot traffic due to the walking path, and traffic on the entrance road. So many holes play by both of these, it was a fight against the park goers. And so much pavement is a con in general, both for disc damage and general ugliness.
- RHBH hyzer goes a long way here; it is the obvious line on #2, #4, #5, #7, #8, and maybe #9. The only hole with any sort of right fading action is #6; and even then a straight shot is serviceable. A little repetitive.
- A few spots where tees/fairways/baskets are a little cramped, like in the #1-#3 loop. Heads up on a busy day.

- For a 9-holer in a city park, this course delivers! Some tough holes to really test accuracy and/or distance. Tight lines off the tee due to big and small trees, water to punish some poor shots, tricky basket placements - it's got a ton of character. Definitely worth a stop for almost anyone; I would say beginners might want to skip this more than the experts. Definitely a chance to lose some plastic here.

1. Beautiful Park, Very Clean, Well maintained
2. Good course for beginners.
3. A couple Challenging Holes
4. After you find the 1st tee holes have good signs.

1. Most Holes are too short.
2. Fairways play over parking Lots and Walking Paths.
3. Hard to find the 1st Tee

I played on an cloudy nasty day and the park was pretty empty, but I could see it being pretty crowded on a nice day.

Course was okay to play one time but probably wont go back.

1) Concrete tees although under 8 inches of snow they were hard to find. I always prefer to throw from a consistant surface.

2) Nice signs on a 4x4 post making finding the next tee much easier for first timers. Hole #, distance, par, and a map of the hole are on each sign. Hole sponsors are also included on their signposts, its always nice to see the locals backing a course.

3) Check out the multiple waterfalls in the creek running through the course. It is a nice touch to hear a waterfall running in the background as you putt . . .puts you in a good frame of mind.

4) There is a good amount of variety on this course which makes it what it is. There are a couple water carries, a couple shots that run near the creek, there is a little bit of elevation change (albeit small it is used well), distance variation between the shortest 180' and the longest 460', and also a good mix of the density of trees.

5) Directional sign sending you to #3 tee. is helpful.

6) This course will test a lot of your skills which is always a positive. I certainly thinkt he water carry on #2 is not your average water carry because it starts with a slight uphill of about 100' then the carry is about another 120'. I suggest laying up for most people because the risk of hitting something right on the edge seems greater than the reward of getting across.

7) Innova discatchers in good shape and easily visible from the tees.

8) Very nice park with good maintenance. Surely this is a popular park int he summer season.

1) The only thing this course really lacks is a tight densely wooded hole. Now I know it is a big general use park and that doesn't seem to be an option oin this park, but it is about the only thing mising fro making this a complete all around course.

2) Elevation is slight, they use it well but overall the change in elevation on this course is no more than about 10' unless you throw down in the creek which might be an additional 10'.

3) Small area for the course and it seems like a couple of hole pass by other holes that might be slightly dangerous. Because there isn;'t really a defined fairway an errant shot could also require someone to play a different fairway. It really only occurs on 2 holes I think, so hopefully it isn't as big of an issue as it seemed.

4) No direction to the first tee. I think I figured out where the parking lot was supposed to be, but I followed my GPS to the coordinates and I had to park a good distance from the tee.

5) No kiosk which I am beginning to appreciate more and more, its always nice to have a place to post announcements etc.

6) No bathrooms visible from the course, perhaps there are some somewhere but it didn't seem like it was open.

7) You throw over a walkpath a couple of times, fortunately they have a sign indicating to the walkers that "flying objects" are possible the next 100'. Perhaps they should have truly indicated what type of flying objects so that people understand what it is we are doing better. You also have to throw over the main road on #9, which also passes right past a small parking lot. That brings into play a large amount of vehicles in danger. It could have been avoided with different tee placement.

8) Very spread out between holes makes for a long walk.

9) This park would be busy all summer for sure which would create a lot of difficulty in playing the course. There are just too many points where people would be that would prevent or slow down your throws.

10) Short teepads. On holes over 400' it sure would be nice to get a good runup to throw as hard as needed.

This is not your typical park-like course because it brings the water into play, but the density of the trees makes it feel like a simple walk in the park.

There was an interesting phenomenon that occured while I was hear. While I was playing Hole #7 and getting ready to take my 60' putt attempt I heard a loud pop. It was a huge Oak tree popping from being so cold (-5 when I played) when the sun had begun to warm it up. I didn't know what it was at first, I knew it wasn't someone throwing a disc because there was noone else on the course, but then I figured out what it was. It was very loud, and something I am not sure I have heard before.

Scenic park, well maintained, descent facilities, has some variety & descent length good amount of obstructions & water in play on several holes, cement tee pads & signs. About half the holes were challenging, the others relatively easy birdies.

Nothing to indicate where the course starts, walked around looking for hole 1 & ended up starting at hole 3. Tee pads too short. There were unaware people muddling about around every hole or directly on the hole which became pretty frustrating. Granted I played on a Saturday around 1 on a beautiful day, but people seemed cluleess to course users.
Park structures on some holes, (ie. picnic pavillion on hole 3 extends into the hole.
Lacks signs to next tee on all but hole 9 & at time confusing to navagate

Hole 4 basket was surrounded by a park construction zone with heavy equipment, materials etc.
Then there was a sign pointing for hole 9 tee that went back toward the construction site, never found a tee box after looking around so I'm guessing it once was where this construction site now is. Didn't look like the construction had anything to do with DG course upgrades.

Some of the baskets were bent, slumped off line or had rusted out chains & baskets.

There were too many people around & walking along paths to really rip a shot on hole 2, too bad cause it was the best hole on the course.

The layout could also be improved.

This was a great looking park and the course could be a lot nicer if not for issues. With the construction site a virtual 7 hole currently. Probably a bit better if played regularly or at less busy times. If the course had it's own space it would play a lot better & be more enjoyable. I would not go out of the way for this one, but would return if closer to home or in area at less busy time. It does have some good attributes but also needs improvements.

-Cement Pads (although short)
- Great Tee Signs
- Some Long holes
- Mildly entertaining
- For the local Belvidere disc golfers its a nice course to get in after work or when your tight on time.
- Nice Innova baskets
- Leashed Dogs Allowed
- An asthetic park that is decently manicured

- Fairways have conflicting traffic.
- Local population is clueless about the sport.
- 1 and 3s fairways are far too close for 400' holes
- Hole 3 (460')needs some trimming. The low branches 50ft in front of the tee severaly limit actually being able to throw anywhere near a good long drive. Instead these braches prompt you to throw over the shelter and playground to make a good long shot.
- The flow isn't good. 1 thru 3 are seperated from 4-9. Luckily its a skinny and small park so you dont haave to search much.
- Not a single hole is a really challenge. You should find yourself putting for a 2 on 7 of the 9 holes.
- Signs directing you to the next tees would be nice.

Although the course looks planned out well it wasn't put in a good park. There is alot of other traffic moving through the park. I can foresee conflicts in the park.
If you're a local or have some other reason to be in the park then by all means take 30-40 minutes of your time and enjoy a round or two of disc. I wouldn't, however, go out of your way to play it.

This is actually quite a beautiful course when it comes to scenery. I enjoy the trees and the Kishwaukee River flowing along side the park. I also enjoy the challenge for only being 9 holes. Hole 3 has a huge risk/reward factor if you try to make it over the pond on your drive. I would suggest playing conservative if it is your first time playing. I am wondering how many discs are actually in that small lagoon. Oh yeah, the pool plays music over loud speakers, so you have something to listen to while you are playing which is unique in my mind even if it is something terrible like Lady Gaga.

This place is crowded and not with disc golfers. It is the nicest park in Belvidere and people love to use it, especially on the weekends. Some residents will have picnics and set up in the middle of the fairways not knowing that there is a course there.
I also am nervous when there is a lot of water around, and am sometimes worried about using a nicer disc just in case of a bad throw.

This course is very nice for 9 holes. I would certainly check it out if you are in the greater Rockford area.

The course plays through a pretty and very well maintained park with grassy fairways and various densities of trees. There are a couple small ponds and a creek that are in play on some holes, making for some nice risk/reward shots, and a small flowing river along the edge of the park with a big swinging bridge over it that adds to the scenery here. Hole 2 is the best use of the water on this course, with a blind uphill shot, then a drop to a pond and creek, then another rise on the far bank to a pin placed on the edge of a slope down to the water.

The course has nice new baskets that are in great shape, and good large concrete tees with a decent surface. The signs are plenty informative with basic hole maps and distances, and there aren't any holes where you don't know where to shoot. The flow is good, so the course is easy to follow with no navigation issues.

Other than hole 2, the course is pretty forgettable. The holes play through scattered trees with no real defined lines, through mostly flat grassy areas. The only other water carry is very short, only long enough to discourage very new players. Several holes seemed to be long, but not long enough to really make a 3 challenging which made them very boring holes.

There are several places on the course where there are potential safety issues with other park users. Some holes play right along the park road and near parking areas, and others bring benches, picnic areas and playgrounds into play which could be a major issue on a nice day.

Other than one great hole, this course just doesn't have all that much going on. I don't recommend going out of your way to play this one unless you happen to be in the area and want to play a quick round. Beginners will find the course approachable other than hole 2s longer water carry, though the length on some holes may be discouraging. More experienced players won't find a lot of variety or unique challenge here.

My overall day here was quite enjoyable. With that said, this one is like a roller coaster in terms of rating it. Our arrival was a pro and a con....
1) Beautiful swimming pool, and a large parking lot.
2) The walk to the nearest of a number of small, arched bridges, allowed us to view a number of the beautiful flower gardens here. I mean; these are nice. Most towns probably have a park or two with this sort of flower bed landscaping; but few disc courses ever see such items.
3)This walk to the nearest bridge also took us past two "wonderful children at play." These are life sized, bronze sculptures, right in the middle of the small river.
Unfortunately for the "children", it had been raining steadily in the area for a couple of days; and the kids were drowning :<).
4) Once we got to a tee; signs and tees were well done.
5) #2 is a very nice disc hole. I lost one in the creek/river (I'm not sure what this body of water is; the portion I lost my plastic in was raging and too deep to go into the day we played. At other times; this may not be such an issue.) You throw semi blind to the water; due to uphill drive; and water is perfect distance to scare/challenge, blue level player.

If you lay up, short of water (or have to shoot your circle 3rd shot; as I did; from back side of creek/river), your next shot will require a solid 220+ heiser (rhbh); completely over a wider and placid portion of the water feature (picture; pond like). This is not that long distance wise; but pin near the water and if you heiser too much; you bring trees on back side of green back into play and force your next putt to be back at the water feature; with a sloped, downhill finish to end up wet.
If you made it across on the drive; you must play a @200 ft. straight as an arrow shot; with trees in play; and the water to the right; or swing a pretty wide anny (rhbh) to come back through trees to the landing. Again, I will point out that the pin is near the water, with a long upshot/putt tending towards wetness.
Lhbh players may not find this hole as difficult as rhbh.
For rhbh, it's an interesting, par three shot; with a water stroke very available; that would be a fine hole on a top course; and is a very pleasant surprise at this, otherwise, scenic; but rather uneventful layout.

1) Lot was full because swimming pool was getting major use. We had to park all the way at the end of the long lot, which actually put us quite a distance from tee #1 and we started on a mid course tee.
3) One of the first holes we played; #6? does very much have benches and playground in play. There was no one there, when we were but, if there had been, would have very much been an issue.
2) These holes were moderately challenging; with some trees to contend with; including
at least one nice pine grove. There is also moderate elevation ....especially on greens; which will make for putts from raised or sunken angles. (not a con). But, overall, nothing above average in terms of disc play. Many holes that are fairly challenging deuces; and rather easy threes.

Near the parking lot and seen during the walk too and fro to the course; is an old mill/barn that is maintained nicely and adds another layer to the overall/historic/European modern, cottage feel of the place.
@500 ft. to the right of hole #2 is part of a river, locks system. Locks are fairly common in my home area; in Fox Cities, Wisconsin (Fox River). I enjoy this type of scenery in my home area; and believe it is even more unique here.
O.K.....so, I went and looked a little; and this is an offshoot of the Rock River; both this locks system, portion; and the smaller portion that factors into the course on #2.
The actual rating, for disc play, on this course is a 1.5. The single, good hole probably adds a .5 by itself; the landscaping/park amenities/"feel of the park" could add another .5 to it; but with "other parks users issues" (which, I again add, we were not forced to deal with; and so, may not be a problem all that often; as the parking lot was packed full this day); I'll end up with a roller coaster/back and forth/good and bad/I was pleasantly surprised; 2 rating.

I really was not expecting much from Belvidere Park, but it was a surprisingly nice 9-hole course. I had a little problem finding the tee for # 1, but from there the course flowed fairly well and there were directional signs in a couple of places. Hole # 2 was a pretty difficult water carry where you had to hit a gap and # 3 had some good distance to it, so it got my attention pretty quickly. After hole # 3 the course settled down into some pretty nice shots. # 7 is a gimme deuce, but the others were fairly difficult to deuce but fairly easy to par. Most of the shots were moderately wooded, adding some decent challenge. There was no severe elevation changes but the park was not completely flat like a lot of the courses in Northern Illinois. It was a fun round that provided some decent challenge. The course has good tee signs and nice concrete tee pads. The park itself has good amenities and is well taken care of. I was very pleasantly surprised by this course.

The park is very busy, and the course has some iffy spots where it does not seem to fit in very well with the overall park. Hole # 6 was the worst spot. If you take the anny route on # 6 you shoot over some park benches. If your drive fades you will land very close to some swing sets. If there were people sitting on the benches and kids on the swings, I'd have to skip that hole. There are a couple of other spots were a walking path gets very close to the fairways, and a playground was close to one hole. All-in-all, the design made me somewhat uncomfortable in several spots.

Hole #6 is also one of my pet peeves. The tee was on the banks of a creek, so you had to throw maybe 60' to clear the water. This presents no challenge to an adult, but kids trying to learn to play can easily lose a disc in the creek. I can't see the reason for designing holes like this, it just makes it more difficult on kids trying to pick up the sport.

Like most nine-hole courses, this one is not worth going out of your way to play. If you are in the area it is worth your time to check out. You should try to get there on a weekday or really early in the morning to avoid conflicts with other park users.

Lots of challenging shots for new players and more advanced players. Clean and well maintained grounds. Hole 2 will take your disc if not played carefully making it a nice challenge. Hole 8 is all trees giving more variety.

Walking path close to the course. They moved the playground out of the middle of hole 3 but it is still off to the side. Watch out for pedestrians wandering into the flight path on hole 6.

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution -- C- (would have graded it lower except hole 3 might be the best risk-reward par 3 I have ever seen! Tough shot to get to pin, but a blind pond adds a ton of risk on errant throws. I have added a couple photos of this. Very cool!)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I throw 300' accurately, 360' max -- C- (Most holes are too long or clogged to deuce, but too short to make a 3 rewarding.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- C- (Hole 8 is the best hole - 250-ish thru a narrow R-L fairway of mature trees.)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- C- (The beauty is incredible with a river, a stream, beautiful trees and grass. It is so crowded into the park that it is dangerous. Unfortunately, that counteracts the beauty.)
5) Bonus points for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- D+ (See #2. There are legitimate, but horrible par 4s since you can not get onto the dance floor in one throw on several holes.)

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (125 18-hole, 64 9-hole as of mid 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

lots of different types of shots. some long, some over water, most with trees in play, beautiful landscape. concrete pads

random people walking around in the way sometimes

none

One of the better all around parks I've been to. Good elevation change and many different things to deal with, from trees, to open shots, to a few awesome water shots.

Since it is such a fun park, there are many people walking around and doing things, which can get in the way.

Watch out for Hole #2, as you have to throw uphill AND over a little lake. It's fun, but it requires strategy if you don't want to lose your disc.

Signs everywhere,very easy to navigate. Because it's so new,everything looks spectacular. You play along the river on about 1/3 of the course and there are two water holes that provide a good spice to the course. Very challenging for newbies like myself but it's well appreciated. The park is kept in very well shape,including the course itself.

TOUGH,sometimes almost frustrating even. Hole two is a blind water hole,I've lost three in that bastard and plenty coming I'm sure. Holes three is about 389 feet I believe (could be wrong on how long,but pretty sure) but the trouble is,it play right through a public swing set! Just makes me nervous tossing on through a kids play area. The nine holes are spread out so far in order to fill the place in,it makes for waaaay too much walking between holes. Lack of public bathrooms. The only one I saw was just after hole number 2.

I'm not sure how far I would drive,of how far out of my way I'd go,but this nine is worth playing IF you're in good proximity,giver her a try.