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Carterville, IL

Black Jack Disc Golf

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35(based on 2 reviews)
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6 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.3 years 658 played 637 reviews
2.50 star(s)

A Pair Of Red Nines 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 6, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.288 Rating) A pleasant 9 hole course that plays around a pond and then the woods.
- CHAINS - Sleek custom Gateway Titan baskets bearing the course name on the top band.
- TEE SIGNAGE - Nice tee signage showing the hole layout with obstacles and distances for all four tee and basket combinations.
- NAVIGATION - Mail box at near tee (1). Drum roll................. Empty. Regardless, still good navigation. The tee signs also show next tee direction. There are even extra posted directional signs on the long transitions. The only minor issues was a missing sign on (9), which I'm sure was a temporary condition.
- MAINTENANCE - Like many school courses, well mowed fairways and upkept grounds. Straying well off fairway could be tumultuous on (6) thru (8). It's a jungle in a few spots, but I don't have issue with that.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The pond makes this course just a touch more charming than the average course. I loved the tee shot look from blue tee (3). There are also a few moderately wooded holes and the course is somewhat separated from the built environment. I gave the course a 2.875 out of 5.
- QUICK PLAY - It took me 70 minutes to complete this one with a 40 minute long thunderstorm delay. So figure 30 minutes or less for the quick course bagger. A group of 4 running two loops playing the alt tees the second time through will likely be done in under 2 hours.
- LOCATION - A 12 minute drive from the Interstate.

Cons:

Needs tee surfaces and 50 acres of epic land.
- TEE AREA - Natural tees currently for both red and blue tees. There are two fading colored pavers to mark the line, so at least there's that. No benches and 50/50 tee shading.
- MISSED OPPORTUNITIES - It would have been nice to have a hole or two use the surrounding heavy woods better and also the creek further up stream.
- FORGIVENESS - The average Joe will lose plastic out here. Bad ricochets on holes (1) and (2) and a poor throw on (3) could easily find some water. In addition, the sun bleached fairway edges on (6), (7) and (8) could require some long searches thru ivy and vines to find a disc. I personally would not bring a beginner here.
- UNIQUENESS - Good for a niner but a hair below average overall. Too park style for my preference. Holes (4) and (5) are almost featureless plays. Overall, the layout is mostly flat and it just doesn't have any wow moments. I did like the water clear on (3), the deep pocket on (6) and the right hook on (7).
- MULTI USE HAZARDS - There's a walking path that encircles the pond and thus it comes into play on 4 holes. Honestly not a big problem as a few seconds of waiting would clear up most conflicts.
- PARKING - The bridge to the course from the parking area appears to have recently washed away. So instead of a 200 foot walk to the course, it's now a 600 foot walk.

Other Thoughts:

Black Jack felt like a 2.25 rated course to me. Which is roughly 85 percentile among the 126 nine holers I've played to date. The golf and natural park environment here is decent enough to score a higher score with my method. With just a shoring up of the tee surfaces, I'd raise the score by nearly a quarter point to get it up to a solid 2.5. For those that live in the area, Black Jack will be a nice weekly course and it will likely draw some league events. For those travelling though, this a nice leg stretcher course off of the Interstate. Having played nearby Pharoah's Way as well, I think that that course is a notch better, although Black Jack will be a much quicker play.
- CHALLENGE - The Red tees felt like a lower level Recreational course. While the Blue tees amped the challenge up to upper Recreational level. The two defined tee layouts did a great job of producing different looks and angles, but unfortunately did not change up the difficulty enough IMO. Typically when I see a course using the Red and Blue tee set-ups, I get a Recreational level layout for the Red tees and an Intermediate or Advanced level layout for the Blue tees. I'd think the difference in the two tee layouts is around a 35 to 45 rating points difference.
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4 0
Redleg
Experience: 12.9 years 63 played 17 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Gen Logan would be proud 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 8, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This a relatively new course, on a Jr. College Campus. Tee boxes are marked with colored blocks in ground, grass tees. Signage is good with distance and pin and tee location. Great use of the terrain plus dual pin location for each hole which really change up the shot on most holes. Water comes into play on first 3 holes. Most holes are 200 to 275 feet, #5 is an open long hole to air out the bigger arms. #6 is a down hill longer hole, might be my favourite. Flow is pretty good.

Cons:

You have to cross a bridge to get to course from parking lot, foot bridges out. Practice basket is by parking lot. Plus have to cross a road between 4 & 5 and 8 & 9 currently no crosswalks marked. Tee markers can be hard to find. No deal breakers on this course.

Other Thoughts:

This is one of the better Campus courses I have played. The person who got it started is working to get additional holes added, no word on when. Great beginners course without being too hard but still giving a fun round to more experienced players. Come play this one if closea
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