Madison, WI

Elver Park

3.775(based on 32 reviews)
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8 0
Thomashasfun
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.8 years 496 played 494 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Another WI Gem

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 11, 2024 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Multiple concrete tee pads per hole, long and short
- Rotating basket locations, as many as 4 on several holes
- Excellent amount of elevation
- Good mix of open with rough, and lots of skinny trees to hit gaps type of holes
- Distance wise not an easy course and uphill holes add to the distance while downhill holes make hitting landing zone more important
- I like the mix of fast and slow greens
- Bushes/trees in the middle of fairways act as good bunkers
- Lots of trouble off the fairway means no shot here is boring
- Basket placement is in places that make upshots harder
- The last hole is a great finisher as it's a very respectable top of the world hole

Cons:

- There are a lot of people that like to run up and down the big hill for exercise which is in the way of too many fairways.
- Pay to play like most of the good courses in the area
- Only a single par 4 hole out here, I feel as though that could just be the basket locations I played that day?
- Bugs in the wooded section are relentless

Other Thoughts:

Another great course in this area! If you're a fan of elevation coming into play and some moderately wooded disc golf then you are in luck here.
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5 0
Johnsondere
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 1.3 years 136 played 83 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Best in Madison? drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 11, 2021 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Plenty of parking space.
- Soccer fields to warm up on.
- Two tee pads and basket locations for each hole.
- Lots of elevation change.
- Great mix of open and wooded holes.
- Long baskets are great, short baskets are okay.
- Super fun finishing hole!

Cons:

- Multi-use park, parking lot and areas surrounding the course can get busy at times.
- Some tee pads are worn out and need replacement.

Other Thoughts:

One of my favorite overall courses in Madison. The course is fun and challenging no matter what layout you are playing. The price to play is plenty fair, especially for how well maintained the city courses are.
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14 0
EspressoPatronum
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.3 years 316 played 298 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Another Great Madison Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 29, 2021 Played the course:once

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.
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4 0
GageWhite23
Experience: 11.5 years 30 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Elver Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 3, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Here are Elver Parks "Pros." Elver Park is situated on a massive hill. The course starts out working up and across the hill. The first 4 holes use elevation well, then the middle holes are fairly flat with slight elevation changes here and there and then hole 18 is a downhill hole where your essentially throwing from almost the top of the hill to the bottom. Elver Park has short and long tees on every hole except hole 14. Also each hole has a short and long pin position and the City of Madison keeps both pin positions in all the time, so you can choose if you want to play short or long pin positions. The course is always well manicured. Elver Park also has a good mixture of open and wooded holes with the course being about 50/50 with wooded and open holes.

Cons:

The unfortunate "con" Elver Park has is the massive hill it sits on is really popular with people doing workouts on it. It is not uncommon to see people running up and down the hill. Hole 2, 3 and 4 go directly across the hill where people run up and down it, so it is not uncommon to have to wait on people that are running up and down the hill. Other than this Elver doesn't have any major "cons".

Other Thoughts:

Elver Park is a great course to play if you like courses with a good mixture of open holes and wooded holes. Elver is also a great place to play if you like a good mixture of short and long holes. Also important to note that Elver can get busy on weekday afternoons after 4 pm and on the weekends here and there.
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4 3
Mhageman4
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.5 years 42 played 41 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun, Unique 18 holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 20, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

18 unique holes. Every hole has two tee pad options and two baskets on each, for a possible 72 holes!

Makes you use a wide shot selection.

Everything is well maintained and taken care of.

Play through some woods and yet there are mad put woodchips to make it easier to find your discs if you go off course.

Cons:

Pay to play (only $5).

Very crowded.

Bugs can be bad in the woods.

Navigation can be tricky, as after some holes you think you are walking to the next one but you end up being 6 holes ahead of schedule and you need to back track.

Other Thoughts:

Going a second time would make your life a lot easier. I had to walk to the holes a few times to see exactly where I was aiming from the tee pad.
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10 0
primedisc
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.4 years 33 played 20 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Your New Favorite Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 11, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Excellent variety. Course does really well with elevation and length variation. About 60/40 wooded to open holes, with the back 9 being more wooded than the front.
- Great tee signage and two permanent baskets and two teepads at every hole.
- Approachable for beginners but plenty challenging for experienced players. Birdies are earned here.
- Woods is really gorgeous. Big tall pines, not super dense thick brush in most places, even off in the rough. Feels like you're in Colorado on some holes, not Wisconsin.
- Holes are spaced out pretty well, you're not right on top of each other like you are on some other courses in the area.
- A couple memorable holes, including everyone's favorite the top-of-the-world bomb on 18, but also the plinko hole on 15 (which I think is fun).

Cons:

- Navigation is tricky in a few spots. Particularly after the first woods hole. Could benefit from better signage in a few spots.
- Can get crowded (it's a popular course).
- It plays in a mixed use park, and while the vast majority of it is in a disc golf exclusive area, the big hill area is often used by other park goers. There are three holes that play across this hill so occasionally there are other park users in the fairway there.
-$5/day, $40/annual. Not a con to me, as it is maintained well, but may be to some.

Other Thoughts:

Elver is the other Madison city park course, making it the sister course to Hiestand. I waffle back and forth on which I prefer, as they are both fantastic courses, but I think Elver probably has the advantage, making it my personal favorite of the "big 4" Madison 18+ hole courses. This course just truly has everything. I think the two things that put it slightly over the top are the signature holes and the beauty of the woods holes. There's also some real length variation here, especially if you are playing from the long tees there are some true bomber holes, so really everyone at all skill levels will enjoy it and can be challenged by it. You will get a workout playing this course, but that just makes it even better imo. I ultimately rated it the same as Hiestand, as I love them both, but really you would be hard pressed to find a more complete course. And for one in a public park? Forget about it. Fantastic all around course, and a must play if you're anywhere close to the area.
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4 0
JoeDirt
Experience: 21.1 years 80 played 15 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Balanced course with elevation 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 19, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Multiple tee pads. Good value for the $. Good use of elevation. Played from the long pads, nice mix of distance, right/left. Course was easy to navigate but could use some next tee pad signs. Rewards staying in the fairway. Like other local courses the rough can be very punishing. Several holes could be signature holes. 18 has to be everybody's favorite, who doesn't like a massive downhill throw to feel good about ending a round? Several other holes were impressive though as well. Course design flowed well, played quick even from the longs. Big parking lot. Seemed like a nice area.

Cons:

No bathrooms/running water until you finish. A few holes had some placements that had some "plinko". Could be better placed or remove a few trees in a few spots.

Other Thoughts:

Not from here but I really think this course is great value for the money. Well designed and out of the three courses I played locally, this is the one that I would pick first to play again. Plenty of risk/reward scoring opportunities. Also a good course for big arms that you still have to hit a line. And a few holes where if you can throw a good backhand roller you can really get aggressive.
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10 1
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.5 years 1165 played 745 reviews
4.00 star(s)

This is how to do it 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 21, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course has only improved since the first time I played it probably 4 or 5 years ago. The layout is basically the same, but the pay to play aspect shows here. The course is SO much more clean than the last time I played it. There are tons of benches and garbages throughout and people are using them. The new Mach 5 baskets that are red powder coated as well are a major upgrade over what they used to have. These baskets are awesome. There are 2 sets of tee pads on every hole I believe. These are all concrete and are level and grip great. The shot variation here is killer. There are left, right, straight, uphill, downhill, you name it they have it. Course design is fantastic. There are two pin locations on almost if not all holes as far as I can recall. The tee signs are solid. It's a basic hole layout with hole number, distance, and shows both tees and potential pin locations. Better than most in this regard. The course features a solid mix of hole types. There are basically wide open, prairie type holes. There is pretty heavily wooded shots. There are holes with well tucked away pins. Pretty much all you can ask for. The flow from hole to hole is pretty easy to follow even for new players to the course.

Cons:

Pay to play for some. With how this course has improved since the P2P implementation though that's not a con at all. It's the same with the Milwaukee courses in this regard. So to me it's not a con but to some it may be. The course is not set up year round which is a little bit of a bummer. This would be a fun round in the winter. The course can get busy but that's because it's an awesome course. $5 a day is a con to some, but with how much the course has improved since this was implemented I hardly consider this a con but to some it is.

Other Thoughts:

If you're in the Madison area make sure to play Elver and Hiestand. They're both awesome and make for a SUPER fun day of discing. The $5 pay to play is totally worth it. If you're here though pick either Elver/Hiestand or Token Creek/Capital Springs as they are both pay to play. I'd say play Elver/Hiestand first in my opinion. I feel these are just way more fun and cheaper. Token and Capital are great too. But for the bang for your buck Elver and Hiestand are SO much better and challenging. Either way you're going to love it. Like the title says, this is how you do it.
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2 11
Spike Hyzer 23
Experience: 31.3 years 92 played 88 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Great Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 15, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The course was lengthened and a few holes redesigned, and a great deal of work was put into remedying erosion issues.

It's heavily wooded and on a massive sled hill and the course winds in and out of those woods. There are very few long and open holes, and even those pose great challenges with slope (Holes 2 and 18 in particular).

It's a technical masterpiece and one of the more exceptional courses in south central WI, rivaling nearby Marshall for top honors.

Cons:

I don't see any.

Other Thoughts:

My first course, so I'm biased. I've played well over 1000 rounds here and had at least 10 aces and in my second year of playing shot a 39 to tie the course record set by Barry Schulz (the course is at least 5 strokes harder now with all of the improvements).
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10 2
thePatient
Experience: 10.3 years 15 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Bit of a mixed bag 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 16, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-There's a good amount of difference in how the course plays from the short tees vs. the long tees. On most holes, the long tees demand a longer and tighter shot, but there's actually a few where the line is more difficult from the short tees. I think this is great for those who play this course a lot.
-Good mix of holes forces you to use a lot of different shots. Some are wooded, some are open, and some are both. Nice use of elevation as well.
-Parts of the course make use of a pine forest, which is pretty uncommon for courses in this area. It seems to me like there's less mosquitoes at Elver than other local courses, perhaps the pines and the lack of water are reasons why.
-The course sits on top of a large hill, which allows for some pretty cool views, namely from the 18th tee.
-All of the holes feel unique to me. There's some that are similar, and there's definitely some I like more than others, but at the end of a round I find it easy to recall what happened on each hole instead of it all running together.

Cons:

-There's a quite a bit of trash on the course, and not just paper and cans but broken glass and cigarettes as well. Even though there's several garbage and recycling cans, even can crushers, some people still feel the need to litter apparently. I didn't grow up in the area, so I can't say for sure, but you definitely get the feeling that local teenagers hang out at the park to drink and smoke.
-As others have mentioned, erosion is an issue here around many tees and paths between holes.
-The course can get pretty busy, and I'm sure this fact is a main cause of all the other cons I've listed here.
-The activity hill really takes away from this course. For those that haven't played here, it's basically a big, open sledding hill and holes 2-4 crisscross it. Not only are the holes themselves not very good when compared to the rest of the course, you often have to deal with non-disc golfers on the hill. I once came to play a round here only to find that a large cross country team was running up and down the hill for practice.
-There's a couple of spots where tees and baskets come close together, which could lead to some close calls on busy days.

Other Thoughts:

-A lot of the cons I've listed wouldn't have as big of an impact on the rating if the course was free to play. I just feel like dealing with trash and non-disc golfers on the course are things that you shouldn't have to deal with when you pay to use it. I certainly understand why the city chose to make Elver and Hiestand pay-to-play, and I'm not at all against the concept, but you get the feeling that it may have been too late, with the erosion and the large numbers of people using the park for other activities.
-On hole 18, the short tee seems to have fallen into disuse. I suspect this is because once you get to the long tee, you can't wait to let it rip from the top of the hill. I actually thought the tee no longer existed the first few times I played the course because I couldn't find the path to it, but it's still there. When you get to the long tee at 18, just keep going towards the woods on the left. The trail that leads to the short tee is very overgrown in the summer, but if you don't mind trudging through the brush and potentially cleaning off the pad a bit, it provides a pretty interesting shot from the side of the hole through some trees.
-I would say if you're coming from out of town and planning a day of disc golf in Madison, I would give this one a miss unless you're staying for more than 1 day. It's a great location for people that live on Madison's West Side, or those coming from west of town, but pretty much all of the other courses in the area are concentrated on the East Side or east of town.
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6 1
Stardoggy
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.3 years 1038 played 214 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Solid, if not spectacular course 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 14, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nice course in a city park.

12' concrete tee pads at every hole, at both pro and am tees. Most of them looked well supported, and in great shape. Nice different looks from many of the long pads.

DGA baskets in good repair, and caught well. One pin position per hole.

Tee signs showed distance, minimal topography, and pin placements. Very servicable. Navigation gets a little odd in a couple spots, but nothing that is too hard to figure out.

Nice mix of open, wooded, and combination holes. Most of the wooded holes were very fair, with just a few that really forced a tight line. From the longs, there were some especially nice wooded lines. Holes 14-17 feel great to hit.

Good use of elevation where available. 18's top 'o the world shot is a nice way to end the round. Nice rolling terrain through much of the rest of the course.

Love the can crushers on nearly every hole!

Cons:

There's really not a lot to complain about here.

$5 pay to play is a little steep, but if you play several rounds, or hit Hiestand the same day (we did), it's not a bad deal.

The "activity hill" is a nice feature for the park, but it's a horrible place to stick 3 holes of a disc golf course. We were there on a Thursday afternoon, and even then there was 10-15 people roaming around the middle of the fairways.

Erosion is a problem here. There were many washed out areas, and a few of the tee pads were covered in dirt.

I've heard the traffic can be quite bad here, and even on a work day afternoon, there were quite a few groups out.

Other Thoughts:

This is a really nice course that lacks the "wow" factor. The two sets of tees offer nice challenge, and many of the wooded holes offer tough, but fair lines that feel great to play well.

Definitely a great place to work on accuracy. This is probably my favorite course in the Madison areas (from the longs). Totally worth a run in you're in the area!
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2 0
zdwyatt
Experience: 25.3 years 24 played 6 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Solid course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 29, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The course is well-balanced, with a nice blend of lengths and shot shapes. The course is largely wooded, but I would only consider three or four holes tight. Each hole has two concrete tee pads, though there often isn't much difference between the two.

Cons:

This a popular city course, so it's usually busy. The course also suffers from trash and vandalism, though the new pay-to-play requirement seems to be improving that.

Other Thoughts:

This is a nice course overall. I'd rank it third among Madison courses, behind Token Creek/Vallarta-Ast and Hiestand. Some basic course improvements (e.g. greens erosion) would help. And as much as I enjoy hole #9, aka Dungeon Master, it detracts from the overall rating. It's a blind throw down a steep hill into trees. More time is wasted looking for discs on this hole than any hole I've played.
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6 0
ElementZ
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.5 years 221 played 209 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fun fun fun 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 24, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

What a treat it was to play Elver park after a long, cold winter in Madison. It was great to see the trees and the grass green again and flowers blooming.

Elver Park is a really nicely taken care of park. It's clean and maintained, which created a great vibe for this course. There are can crushers and trash bins on almost every tee, along with abundant benches which makes waiting for the group ahead of you to finish up much more bearable.

This course offers quite a few challenges. There are a variety of shots required if you're going to shoot a good round. There are fun uphill shots as well as a fantastic downhill finishing hole. With the exception of maybe 3-4 holes, every hole is 2able if you're hitting the right lines.

Cons:

You're supposed to pay $5 to play here, but I don't know if it's enforced (or if the majority of people do it). I'm adamantly against the idea of making a public city park like the ones in Madison Pay2Play, but it is what it is.

Another thing is that when I played, there were four groups waiting to tee off at the 1st tee. From my understanding, the courses in the Madison area are highly used and there's usually a wait...which is something completely different to me coming from central Illinois where I'm usually the only person on the course.

The design and feel of the course is very similar to Hiestand Park. Elver to me felt a bit shorter and more wooded, but otherwise are almost like twins.

Other Thoughts:

Madison really is an excellent destination for disc golf. The courses in the area really are better than average and there's a huge community in Madison that loves the game, which is always a great thing to be a part of. Even though it was really crowded, the people were all friendly and fun to watch. I can't wait to check out the other courses in the area!
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6 0
roggenb3
Experience: 18.3 years 158 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

My new home 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 16, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great variation in am vs pro tees.
Good mix of woods vs fields.
A couple very challenging holes (2 and 17).
Amazing elevation (hole 18).
Forces alot of different shots.
Bathrooms and water.
Pay to play.

Cons:

EXERCISE HILL! - holes 2, 3, and 4 play across a hill used for exercising.
Not enough garbage cans.
Really bad erosion on the path from 17 to 18.
Pins are moved infrequently, and often 1 or 2 at a time.
Some holes only have 1 pin placement.
Seasonal.


Other Thoughts:

Elver is my new home course for the past two years, and overall I love it, but it just has some things holding back from being a really nice course. The exercise hill makes holes 1-4 take crazy long some times, and it's not uncommon to see children down to ages of 2 and 3 running around, and I don't like throwing anywhere near toddlers.

Elver is still probably the most fun of the 3 courses in Madison (Heistand and Cap Springs being the others) - there's no better feeling than ripping one off Hole 18 and watching it soar for like 10 seconds.

Pay for play has brought traffic to a crawl - towards the end of the 2013 season, people without passes finally stopped coming and I never had to wait behind more than 1 group. Also, the coming 2014 changes will improve alot. They have the areas to fix erosion issues remove stumps marked off and you can bet more trash cans and benches are coming with the pay to play money. Holes 8 and 9 are being re-done, and extra pin placements are coming to 14 and 16. Who knows what else will change.

All in all it's a great place to play, and nice enough to play often if you live nearby.
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1 3
Charlie Deville
Experience: 16.6 years 37 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Loved it! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 15, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great variety of shots. Easy to find your disc. Lots of ace opportunities. Beautiful views.

Cons:

Needs better trash pick up from users.

Other Thoughts:

Only busy during peak times. Go in the mornings and the place is yours.
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4 0
ajkuck
Experience: 17.4 years 55 played 31 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Course with Plenty of Potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 30, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The course offers a great variety and mix of holes and shots. There are many technical holes in the woods, some open holes, many birdie opportunities, and great elevation change. Holes 2-4 play along the side of the hill. It gets interesting from hole 7-17, which are primarily set in the woods. There are plenty of lanes in the woods, but it is still important to have accurate and technical shots off these tee pads in order to stay out of the brush. Hole 18 is definitely the signature hole on top of a huge hill and reminds me a lot of hole 17 at Bryant Lake in MN, but shorter. Hole 9 is also an awesome downhill hole that requires a hyzer over the top of the treeline in order to get your disc to drop by the pin. The constant elevation changes at this course, certainly make it unique. Another noticeable feature of this course are the protected pin locations, which makes birdies and pars certainly tougher to come by. The course also offers a much more challenging round from the long tees. The maintenance of the course is also well done. I throw RHBH and the course offers many opportunities for throwing hyzers, anhyzers, and thumber shots. It is a great course for both left and right handed players, regardless of whether you backhand or forehand. The city also does a nice job of switching up basket locations throughout the season. Lastly, there is also a practice pin near the first tee pad.

Cons:

The course is always packed. Many of the tee pads are also littered with trash since the trash cans are never emptied. The course also lacks quality erosion control, benches, and some of the tee pads are quite muddy/dusty.

Other Thoughts:

This course reminds me of a tougher, more challenging version of Hiestand. It plays longer and the lanes in the woods are slightly narrower than those at Hiestand, so accuracy is more important. I go to school at UW and this course is very comparable to the courses I play in Minnesota. The only odd thing is that everyone is Madison play the short tee pads, which was quite a change for me. I have played the course a few times from the long tees and it certainly makes the course a lot more challenging. I honestly can't wait until this course and Hiestand are pay to play next spring so that the things I mentioned in the cons section can see some improvement. It will also help with cleaning up the course a bit and getting rid of some of the rift raft. The course has a lot of potential.
*Lastly, make sure you play the "40 shot" before you get to the tee pad on hole 17.
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7 0
#19325
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.4 years 351 played 178 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Elver is fun! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 20, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Elver has a great mix. It has some nice elevation in places. It has areas of open to semi wooded. It has some tighter wooded holes and some nasty rough in places. See the vidoe in the other thoughts and you can get a good idea of how the course plays.

Dual concrete tee pads. The tees are in great shape.

DGA Mach 3 baskets that are in solid shape. Multiple pin positions that seem to be changed often.

Between the short/long tees and the multiple pins there is good variety on this course for many skill levels.

The tee signs get the job done. This course is pretty easy to navigate and the flow is really good.

17 &18 is a super fun finish to the course. 17 is a tough wooded par 4. 18 is a 475 foot hole that plays downhill and is very reachable.

Hole #9 is a pretty crazy blind hole. Send a spotter. I love it!

Cons:

This course is on the shorter side with very few par 4's & 5's.

This course gets a lot of play and errosion is a problem in areas. Watch your step walking from 17 to 18 if it's rained.

Other Thoughts:

Here is a really good video of some pros playing Elver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I0JyA7UBA8

This is a very popular course and gets tons of play. Be prepared to wait during prime hours.
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6 0
stubborn puppet
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 48 played 27 reviews
4.50 star(s)

A truly majestic expedition 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 8, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course may not be totally "perfect", but I honestly never noticed while playing it. I'll try not to get too carried away here.

> Super scenic course with more variety than any other course I've ever seen.
> Big, level, concrete tee pads for both pro and am settings that are in fantastic shape.
> Most of the signage is great. The tee signs are obviously being improved, but they're good and there are plenty of signs directing players to the next tee which are easy to follow.
> Amazing course design that explores every shot shape I could think of and manages to shake things up at every tee.
> The park and course were both very clean when I visited. Some trash cans needed emptied... but you could tell that folks generally make an effort here. I didn't see anything in the way of graffiti except on one unfortunate bench.
> I found the pin positions (including the alternates I saw) to each offer a unique challenge and were guarded enough to require much more than just a "point-and-shoot" experience.

Cons:

The negatives on this course are relatively just nit-picky odds and ends, with only one major thing that could improve it.

> The first few holes seem a little uninspired and are mostly just a way to get you to the top of the hill without making you throw straight up the hill.
> Pro tees were not as far back as they could have been in most cases and I saw some opportunity to position them in a way that might make for a bit more variety as well as distance.
> I felt the am tees could also have been further away. Sometimes the course just felt a little short for the space.
> I read that the course is closed between Nov and April. That sucks. This would be a great opportunity for fall and winter games and a great Ice Bowl tournament participant.

Other Thoughts:

This course is a real surprise - when you first start, you think it's a really average one and starts off adequate but uninspiring... until you reach the top of the hill and the view of the terrain begins to take hold. As you finish up hole 4, you begin a process of being transported from one very different type of landscape to another - a Farmers Field, a large pine forest similar to Endor from Star Wars, midwestern backwoods, a bouldered glacial deposit, a steep rock face, an orchard... and like that all the way to 18 for the majestic and fun downhill throw (which could have been further away to make those soaring rips really worth it - I overshot the basket by about 100').
I have to send huge respect to this courses designer(s) and the parks dept./city for allowing them the freedom to really explore this park. Also I want to applaud the Mad City Disc Golf Club for their obvious hard work and efforts at Elver and Heistand parks. You have a true gem of the Disc Golf world here and I thank you for the opportunity. The pictures attached to this course so far are very insufficient to show what it really looks like.
I live many states away and came to Madison to visit the inlaws, so I thought I'd find a couple of courses to enhance the trip. I discovered that there are very few courses in the Madison area by comparison to my home town... but Elver park is now my favorite course and I can't wait to get back soon. Make the trip for this and Hiestand Park, you'll be glad you did.
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7 0
smyith
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.1 years 218 played 68 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 26, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- 2 sets of Level Cement Teepads for every hole
- Multiple Pin placements (I played MCO layout)
- FUN!!!!!!!!!
- Challenges your short game heavily
- Several holes to open up a bit and crank a good drive out.
- Beautiful views and scenery
- Many well guarded and tricky greens
- Good tee signs (I believe every tee had its own sign but I may be wrong)
- Wind plays a big role on some holes
- Line shaping and shot placement are key for good scores.
- Great use of the land
- Good lines have a chance at Aces
- Several shots are required for really good scoring
- Its Free and better than the pay-to-play locally

Cons:

- Long tees are not all that interesting. I like the long tees to feel like a entirely different course. These long tees for the most part just make the hole longer. There are a few holes that the pro pads make a for a different hole.
- Lots of chuckers - watch your disc, walking back up that hill after a chucker who picked your disc up sucks!
- Lacks garbage cans
- Use a spotter on hole 9 (not holding against the course)

Other Thoughts:

I'm really disappointed in myself for taking so long to play this course. It is definitely more fun to play the Hiestand shorts, but not quite as challenging. Between the 3 18 holers here I'd rate this second to Hiestand and a distance second over Vallarta-Ast.
This course is more aimed at the REC to INT level. The longs would be good for developing ADV players. It will offer little challenge to most ADV and Pro players. Basically if you can make your putts smooth you will do very well, getting to the hole for the duece putt isnt hard.
Many of the holes require you to accurately place your disc both in actual landing area and angle. Holes like 2-4 can be very dangerous if not hit correctly. The greens on most of the wood holes are well guarded but have lines and options for every style of play.
I think the main reason I enjoyed the course is because it required me to think my shots through even though the holes were easily reachable from the tee.I could only wish this course (or one similar too) was my home course.
If your traveling to the area I would reccomend you play this course. It is most definitely worth your time. It only takes about 15 min to get here from Hiestand. If you only have time for two courses i would chose this and Hiestand before playing Vallarta-Ast.
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6 0
notapro
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.3 years 571 played 284 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Intermediate/Expert 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 26, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Course is set in the grounds of a seasonal ski hill, which has open areas as well as dense rough and forest. A bunch of park goers were exercising when I was there, it would have really got in the way if I teed off later.
- The first few holes are more out in the open, playing up and across a large hill. The first 6 are much more open, with patches of thick rough to punish errant shots. A few trees on the fairway; the real challenge is shot placement near the basket and decent accuracy off the tee. These are the lines to hit. #18 is also out here, a nice downhill shot with rough and some bushes to avoid.
- A bunch of other holes have tight, defined fairways bordered by thick rough. A straight shot is an absolute necessity here, but there are some obstacles off the tee and near the basket. There is a wide range of distances and difficulty here, with some sutblely different lines.
- Remainder of the holes are in more wooded areas, with tall skinny trees to force tight lines. There is a good variety of lines here, with RHBH hyzers, anhyzers, and some straight shots. #7 is a tight, sharp hyzer, and plenty of s-curve/anny shots. Most are pretty short, but #17 is a nice long turnover throw the woods.
- Constant factor at this course are well protected baskets, especially some of the long positions. They are tucked behind rough or trees on the open holes, tucked into the rough on the medium open holes, and amongst many trees in the forest. Some rollaways here and there as well. Shot placement is critical.
- Also a good amount of elevation changes throughout. Definitely a major factor on the open holes, including some sloped fairways. #9 is an awesome downhill shot over the trees, and the wooded holes have slight ups and downs as well.
- Great signs, teepads, and baskets. Navigation is simple with the map, there are some walks but nothing too bad. The long walk between #17 and #18 is downhill, so it's a breeze. Good difference between long and short tees.

Cons:

- I guess the biggest con here is some similar shots; the holes out the open are more or less wide open, and the semi-wooded holes are all pretty much straight and feel the same. Still tough though.
- Some of the holes in the forest are pretty short, even from the longs there are a ton under 300'. I enjoyed the lines, and some are tough/tight, but the lack of length is very noticeable.
- A few spots are a little crammed together, with close fairways or tees. Shouldn't be too big a deal.

Other Thoughts:

- This course is extremely well rounded, with equal parts in the slopin' open, dense rough, and the tight forest. Great elevation changes on some holes, and gentle ones on others. Tough pin positions, especially at some of the alternates, to provide some drastic lines at some parts. I would not recommend this to any beginners, but everyone else should enjoy it. Intermediate players will have to work hard at some parts.
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