Pros:
Course Design/General Thoughts:
- great elevation change exceeding what you'll find in most area courses
- good mix of holes, with first 6 relatively open but 7 onwards much more technical with huge pine trees
- extremely clean and well maintained
- fairly straightforward navigation
Basics:
- dual tees and baskets on all holes
- large concrete tees
- decent tee signs with full color maps, though could be larger
- high quality baskets with color coding based on tee
Amenities:
- garbage cans throughout course
- benches at some holes
- 2 practice baskets
- restrooms at park
- nice gravel and containment mats around some baskets, limits mud
Cons:
- pay to play may be a con for some (but only $5)
- some tees could be marked better
- walk to 18 is fairly long and not completely clear
- some navigation confusion where holes 7 and 16 come together
- closed in winter months
Other Thoughts:
Madison continues to do disc golf right. While some might view all of the pay to play courses as a con, it produces results: excellent, well maintained, clean courses. If you live in the area, the annual fee is well worth it, and for someone passing through like me, $5 is perfectly reasonable to support a nice course like this. Having played Hiestand and Elver, I've been impressed with the disc golf scene in Madison. One other note - since you can pay at the kiosk/online, you don't have to show up during "staffed" hours like some pay to play courses - this is a huge plus in my opinion.
Elver Park is a very nice course, with some really challenging technical shots and great elevation change. These are two of the most significant factors for me in evaluating a course, and for the midwest, this course really exceeds expectations.
Amenities here are very good, with garbage cans, benches, practice baskets, and nearby restrooms all available. There's also a playground nearby for kids. Some other nice touches are built in wooden stairs on some steeper areas and mats/gravel around baskets to keep them from becoming mud pits.
This course is well above average, but not quite elite. It doesn't quite have the X factor feel of the best courses, but it is an excellent course for a quality round and won't take you 3 hours or anything. The natural beauty of the wooded area is a significant factor here.
While the tee signs could be a bit larger, I enjoyed that the baskets were color coded to their tee, as sometimes multi-basket holes are more ambiguous. Navigation was mostly fine, although it got a little confusing for me where 7 and 16 come together, as you pass through the same area. However, my biggest issue was between 17 and 18, where you need to go past the basket for 17 and continue on to 18. There are spots to proceed down the hill that you don't want to take or you'll have to backtrack quite a ways. Some signage here would be very helpful.
When I am back in Madison I would definitely hit this course again. I wish I had this nice a course in my hometown. Madison may not quite be the destination for disc golf of some larger metro areas, but it's definitely up there and worth passing through if you're looking for high quality courses to play - it seems like there are more every year.