Awesome use of the existing park and trail system. Challenging course that will test all parts of your game. Good mix of left to right and right to left playing holes. Bring your accuracy game!

Awesomely maintained and beautiful park.

A very decent Rec 9 accross the street that is a pretty good challenge also.

The creek crossings would be the weak spot now, though I hear there are some improvements coming in that area.

Distance from major cities is pretty good. But trust me, it's worth it!!!!!!!

A trip to Foundation Park is well worth it, make a day of it!!!

Local club of is full a a bunch of good guys that are more than willing to show you around.

This course is worthy of a National level tournament. Hopefully that will be recognized by the powers that be, and combined with the local club, make a big tournament here a reality

- This is a beautiful park with real character and the course is laid out quite well. There is a great variety of holes that will test most aspects of your game. If you have difficulty throwing 300'+ shots accurately you will struggle here.

- Despite most of the holes being 400'+, I was consistently pulling out my mid-ranges in order to make a more accurate, dependable shot, even on the par 5 holes. This is not your typical par 54 course! I believe the score cards list the par at around 72 but I would probably peg it closer to a 65 or so.

- The concrete pads were some of the best I've played on.

- Course is in desperate need of tree trimming. There are several locations where overgrown trees or low-hanging branches eat an excellent shot. A local informed us that a curmudgeon on the park board won't allow the club to cut any trees. Its unfortunate because the course getting a bit "wild" is one of the biggest things holding it back. Courses should be like well tended gardens, not forests.

- Dangerous creek crossings. There are five holes with some wide, deep creeks to cross. A few are crossed by playing hop-scotch across concrete pylons spaced across the gap. One has a metal plank that is about 1.5' wide and a rope to stead yourself. Another hole has a wooden plank about 2' wide and no rope. The last is hole 18 and fortunately the creek bed was dry because we couldn't find any way to cross the creek without walking back out to the road and around. These aren't huge concerns but I was a bit worried when my wife was trying to cross them, and I would definitely be worried about young kids trying. They add character to the outing, true, but they aren't safe and they aren't family friendly.

- Hole 18 was a disappointment. The course is a thrill ride of exciting holes (especially through the back 9) but it seemed like the designer was unsure how to finish back at the parking lot. After the majesty of the preceding holes you're treated to a dinky poke-and-hope putter shot back to your car.

Wow, Centralia was a lot of fun to play. Fun and challenging are the two words I would use to describe this experience, and I can't wait to come back.

My rating was a tough decision - I would honestly love to give this course a 4.5. I believe its peak potential is 4.5, but the problems I mentioned above are what hold it back. Here is my feedback - implement these and I'll gladly up to 4.5.

1. Build honest-to-goodness bridges for my family to walk across. Someone is going to get hurt.
2. Find a different hole 18. Something with pizzazz.
3. Convince that park board to let you tend the course - any horticulturalist will tell you that pruning limbs is actually good for trees, and removing certain trees are beneficial for the land.

This is a big course with new concrete tpads, gateway titans, mulitple pin positions, and 3 sets of t boxes (only reds are concrete, as of right now). This course has everything, long drives, a few short aceable baskets, creek comes into play a few holes, hills, trees, beautiful landscape. This park is very well taken care of. Has better creek crossings, It also has a 9 hole rec course on the other side of the park.

Concrete on both the 18 hole champ and 9 hole rec side of the park, sometime in the future adding another 9 holes to that. Its a great course, and its only getting greater!

Awesome shot variety, awesome scenery, course and park is very well maintained, Gateway Titans, concrete teepads, distance, everything!!!

This course is getting nowhere near the recognition that it should. But it will shortly! This course will very, VERY quickly become known as one of the top courses on the planet.

Ok guys. All you have to do is read all the reviews. This course achieved a 4.5 rating WITHOUT concrete teepads! Our lack of concrete was the #1 complaint, but guess what. We have concrete now!!! This is my home course, so I may be a little biased, but there is no other course I've played that comes anywhere close to the quality of this course. Everybody involved with the disc golf club here, and the people who run the park make sure the park is always in excellent shape! This course is well worth any drive! This course is the epitome of a hidden gem, but mark my words, the world will know about this course soon, and the world will love it.

-The course is set in a beautiful park that is almost always peaceful and quiet, Amazing for a relaxing fun round.

-The variety of holes is a huge plus, Long open "ball golf" like fairways where you can just rip it, to dense wooded shots that take great precision.

-Navigation is very easy with markers in the ground and even signs on some trees, also Scorecards w/ maps are always stocked. The course also plays very smoothly from hole to hole.(the course is long enough already, its great that the walking from hole to hole is minimized)

-Marked driving range parallel to hole #1 with markings from 150' to 550' which great for a day of field practice. Plus a practice basket for putting!

-All baskets are Titan-24's, by far my favorite baskets and all are in great condition.

-I love that there are grills for cooking out, bathrooms, and shelter right at the start of the course. Really great for when i take groups out to spend the day disc golfing and just to enjoy the park.

-Natural teepads are a downer and would lower my score, BUT money is being raised now and concrete is going in soon!

-Poison ivy is abundant, and i get it very easy. But again the local club actually takes there time to go around and kill any poison ivy that will interfere with play. so again this would lower my rating but simply knowing that the club is doing there best to control the problem makes me look past it.

I returned for my second go at Foundation one year after I gave it a less than stellar review. My initial claim was that this course was great for big arms but too tough for players like myself who can't throw a country mile.
This year I approached the course with a different attitude. I knew what to expect, I knew it was long and challenging, but this time I would shape my strategy accordingly. I concentrated on placing my shots and trying to manage each hole wisely. In the process, I found myself enjoying the round more than any I have played in a long time. I learned to appreciate the length as an opportunity to test my skills far more than I'm able to do on a typical, par 54 course. I marveled at the beautiful design and the way the holes flow through the terrain.
I enjoyed the front nine last year. The journey through the woods and over the creek is as fun as disc golf gets, in my opinion. Holes 6-8 are my favorite holes on the course. I love the way that 7 and 8 both play over the creek, but not on the first shot (at least for me). Here's where good placement accuracy counts as your drive has to set up your second shot to go over the water.
The back 9 gave me fits last year. I found it much more manageable this time around by whittling the length down to little bite sized pieces. Even if you only throw 250 feet, you can still be near the 800 footer in three shots, providing you place them accurately. Simple math means par is possible on most of these holes, even for finesse players like me.

I'm retracting all the negative things I wrote here in my initial review. I realize that the real negative was my own attitude. Honestly, I find no faults in Foundation at all. No, it's not easy to make pars and birdies here, but that's what makes it so fun.

I can hardly believe this was the same course I whined about a year ago. When I finished that first round I vowed I would never be back. But reading the reviews of others caused me to re-think my opinion and I'm so glad I gave it another chance. Now it's one of my favorite courses ever and I can hardly wait to play it again. With the new concrete tee pads in place, I have to give Foundation a high 5!

Gateway Titans
Variety of shot types
Pavilions with fireplace grills
Water during the warmer times of the year
Lots of trees not native to the area that were planted 100+ years ago

Limited designated parking although there's plenty along the side of the not so busy road
Not as busy as I prefer (although that can be a bad thing in sometimes)

Easily the best course within 100 miles of St. Louis.

This course has it all! Professional long holes, some technical, some wide open. Short holes too, but none are without numerous obstacles. Extremely scenic, some of the best looking holes I've ever played. The park is primarily used for disc golf, and the land itself is amazing. The creek that snakes through the entire course makes you play honestly as well. Multiple pin and tee pad placements. Right now most of the pins are in the longer "B" locations. It even has shelters, restrooms and water fountains dotting the whole park. This course right here is why I play this game. Mother nature and competitive sports in one perfect harmony. Highlight of my disc golf year so far!

The only real con I have here are the natural tee pads. I have never played a course with natural pads, excluding the course I played that was laid out on an actual ball golf course with manicured teepads. These here were earthy dirt pads. I slipped badly on one today, but that's because it had rained and I was still getting used to running up on them to throw the long holes this course offers. I understand that many of the courses in this part of Illinois all have natural pads, so I'm guessing this is more of a political thing than a desire. However, I overlooked that minor annoyance to enjoy the top caliber of a course that this place is.

Destination course? You bet! I live two hours away, and you can bet I'll be back! I just wish this course was closer. Met an older gentleman who plays the course frequently and he was gracious enough to show me around and guide me as to where to throw and was very gracious and knowledgeable. If you are ever around this area and you DON'T take the time to stop and enjoy this place, you my friend will have missed out on one of the best disc golf courses I've ever played!

This is an awesome course, defanatley worth the drive if your from out of the area like me. I love the creek that runs through the course. several shots are over the creek with little man made bridges across them (ex. ladder, big stones to hop across on) A nice mixture of holes some being open but most in the woods. Loved holes 6-8

the only con I can think of is that it would be nice if there were signs marking where to head for the next tee off position. This being due to the fact that some are around corners in the woods. Could be a little hard to navigate if you didnt have a local playing with you.

I will defantitaly be going back

This long, tough championship course will really put your game to the test. There are many multi shot par 4's and a couple par 5's on this course. The course is very long but a lot of the holes have trees and low ceilings forcing you to throw controlled shots, not just pure distance. There's a lot of places to get in trouble when you get off the fairway or throw a less than controlled drive. There's a nice variety of shots and a few doglegs. It uses the available land, elevation changes and creeks very well.

There are two tees per hole with colored markers in the ground at each. A lot, if not all of the holes have multiple pin positions. Tee signs list the distance for each tee pad to each pin position with a diagram of the hole. There were many trash cans on the course to help keep the course clean. Maps were available at the bulletin board at the parking lot, but navigating the course was fairly easy.

With all the rain we've got recently, I was pleasantly surprised with how dry the course was.

With a course of this caliber, I was really surprised it didn't have concrete tee pads. With a course full of long holes, having nice long concrete tees would be a huge addition to the course. The tees weren't in bad shape considering they're dirt, but I did move around a bit on some of them to find a better place to throw from.

The tee signs were at the short pads meaning you have to walk past the long pad to see where you're going on a hole then walk back to the long pad to throw.

At one of the creek crossings there were nice cylindrical concrete stepping stones in the creek but two of them had fallen over. If I didn't have such long legs that crossing would have been tough. But then again with all the rain we've had recently the creeks could have more water than normal.

I've never critiqued tee signs with hole diagrams before, but due to all the par 4's and 5's where the basket is far out of sight, I feel like more detailed signs could be useful here. But then again, once you've played here a few times this is a non-issue.

With the exception of the concrete tees, the rest of my cons are pretty minor.

Overall this is an excellent, championship caliber course that's definitely worth checking out.

Even with the short pads I wouldn't say this course is rec friendly, but there is a 9 hole rec course in the same park so there's something for everyone here.

I have been waiting to play this course for 2 years now and I finally found the excuse to make the 3-hour drive to Centralia. I had pretty high expectations, and the course did not disappoint in any way. The conditions were rough because it was snowy and icy, but I will try to not let those affect my review.
Tees- For natural tees, they were nice and flat--it was hard to tell in spots because of the snow, but they seemed to be level for the most part. I didn't feel like the natural tee pads were that big of a disadvantage in most places.
Terrain: The property this course is on is awesome and quite unique. Foundation features the best creek I have ever seen used in a DG course. It is wide and deep and runs throughout much of the course. They find ways to use it differently with each hole. There is a nice amount of diversity as far as holes that play in the woods and some shots out in the open...but not too many. The woods vary from densely wooded to park like. There are quite a bit of elevation changes on top of everything else, which really takes this course to the next level.
Shot Selection: You will throw every shot you have on this course. Each hole is shaped differently and it really rewards the player who breaks the holes down into manageable parts (the par 4 and 5's). If you just want to grip it and rip it, this might not be the course for you (although there are a few places where you can).
Signage: Excellent. The signs appeared to be accurate and marked for the correct basket placements. There were maps for the red tees at Red #1 and maps for Blue at Blue #1.
Flow: Good for the most part. There were a few parts where I had to walk ahead to locate baskets and a few spots where I got turned around, but there were next tee signs in places where it was necessary.
Baskets: Excellent. I am personally biased towards the Gateway Titans. I think they are the best baskets on the market and Foundation is home to the Titan. The eat discs for breakfast.

There are very few cons for me. The main one is the creek crossing. Because the creek comes into play in so many places, it is very awkward in spots. Admittedly, the conditions didn't help, but looking at it subjectively it was still pretty rough regardless of the conditions. There were a few places with bridges, but other places where there were some big stones used for the crossing. The water was up and it could be very difficult to cross for those less coordinated. Unrelated to bridge issue, on hole 7 I went down to get my disc out of the creek and slipped and submerged both feet (ankles high) in icy water. Good times.
I guess the other con would have to be tee pads. I am not sure that the rubber strips that they have out there do much for me. They were very slick and I am not sure it is that much of an improvement over throwing off the dirt/mud.

Awesome, awesome course. Now that I have played it once, I can't wait to get out there again. The guys in the area have a real gem.

Beautiful course even though I played it in January. The course is set in a city park and makes very good use of the landscape. David McCormack, the guy who designed the course, wasn't allowed to remove a single tree and he did an awesome job! You could never tell.

Even though it's in flat So. Illinois, the whole course makes very good use of the available hilly terrain. Holes 1, 5 and 16 are about the only open holes where you can see the basket at the end. I'd say about half of the holes are pretty significant dog legs, again illustrating out the good use of terrain to make an interesting course. And the woods are great! There are lots of trees that make for good scenery and obstacles, but no holes that are tunnel-like. It's got a good open feel.

It's easy to navigate. Well signed and there is an accurate map for each hole at every tee.

It's challenging without making you want to pull your hair out. A few duecable holes, but you have to work for them.

And even though I didn't utilize it, there is a practice putting area.

There is a pretty good sized creek that runs through the heart of the course. It's not a problem for gameplay. It's actually a cool element that comes into play on several holes. But the crossings are pretty sketchy. In most spots, there are tipped over (and icy in January) concrete columns that need to be re-done.

And there are no permanent tee pads. I think this was another regulation set by the park. There were a few rubber ones, but for some reason, it was only on 3 or 4 holes. Some consistency would have been nice.

Great course. I'll make a point to plat it again!

You know this course is special even before you get to the parking just by looking at the beautiful park it's in.

Shortly thereafter, you see the practice basket with it's marked increments, then the driving range! A cool touch anyway, but having pavers in the ground going out to (at least) 525' is just inspired. (It does parallel 1's fairway though, so don't expect unobstructed practicing if other golfers are there.)

My favorite thing about this course? About every shot you can have is covered in the first 7 holes: 1 is an open bomb, gentle hyzer. 2, shorter, tighter anny shot with plenty of obstacles to dodge. 3, GNARLY 90 degree anny that's a mother to get a 3 on. 4 is a teeny anny with a moderately guarded pin. 5 goes up and down and through some trees before a gentle hyzer at the end. 6 is as close as you get to an ace run, but even that is a downhill tunnel with loads of ugliness off to either side. 7 gives you 2 doses of risk reward with a creek 3/4 of the way that's not easy to ascend/descend, and an elevated pin on a steep slope.

There's not another course is the St. Louis area which covers THAT much variety in such FEW holes. Hell, some entire courses around here aren't as dynamic.

Flow hole-to-hole is good (though i cheated with a guide) navigation is better, signage is a notch or two away from great.

Many kudos to whomever is responsible for the bridges/stones that have been placed to traverse the water. Wet feet is NOT a fun sensation when it's ~30 degrees out.

Tiny parking lot that must get overwhelmed in warm weather. (Never did see another place to park, but maybe i missed it)

Missing some of the amenities: concrete pads, water access, benches, open restroom (there is one right by the first tee, but it was closed).

Um, it's not closer to St. Louis???

Such a challenging and dynamic course, i'm spoiled to even have it at close as it is to St. Louis. As more and more people take the trip out here (it is kinda in the middle of nowhere), look for this course to climb up the top 10 list quickly.

If you're planning a trip out here (and you should be), send a PM to hognosesucker. Good golfer, great guide, better host.

Added bonus: if you happen upon the McDonalds a mile or so west of the park before or after your game, jog across the street to the quik-e-mart and you can pick up a bottle of genuine REDARMYVODKA! (My avatar is the bottle's logo)

Haven't seen that stuff in 10 years in St. Louis, but that store has it! (mix it with something though, it doesn't taste very good)

Comparable to West City Park in Festus, MO in regards to length and tree density, but Foundation's holes require far more shot shaping/different techniques.

A phenomenal course i hope to get back to in the very near future. Hopefully my game will have developed a little more by then as i don't enjoy scorecards starting with 8's

The course plays through a hilly forested park, with a large area dedicated solely to disc golf. It's great to play a round without ever having interference from other park uses. None of the elevation changes are drastic, but they are used quite well to add difficulty and variety, along with a few really fun downhill shots. There are two tees and two basket positions that seem to be moved reasonably often, so there is a ton of variety to be had. The red tees are tough, and the blue tees are brutal, even for skilled players.

There is awesome variety in hole shapes here. The lines through the woods and between the clumps of trees on the more open shots are used to force all kinds of different shots, and you'll need to be able to execute these lines to have any chance of scoring well. Most holes have plenty of punishment for errant shots that can easily add strokes to your score, even the more open holes often have baskets tucked in to risky spots. There are a few shorter holes mixed in, but the course plays long and challenging without ever feeling like the holes are just 'long for long's sake'.

There are course maps available for each set of tees at the beginning of the course, and basic signage at both sets of tees, making it fairly easy to navigate the course. The course flows well, you don't have to do too much extra walking between holes. Both sets of tees are pretty easy to find. The 9 across the park road is a great bonus, and makes a nice warm up for this tough course.

To me the tee pads are the biggest con here. both sets of tees are natural with occasional rubber pieces, and many are pretty rutted out. On long holes, having a good surface to tee from makes a huge difference, and there are a lot of those longer holes here. The signage could use a little work, with better ideas of hole layout and an indicator of which pin position is currently in use, it's a lot of extra walking on this course to walk up most of the fairways to see where to throw. Many of the creek crossings were recently upgraded it seemed, there are just a couple that could use a little more work.

This is a tough championship caliber course that will test any players' skills. Beginners will find it very long, difficult and punishing, it's not at all meant to be friendly to newer players. Intermediate level players will be tested and challenged from the red tees, and will need to have a great day to score well. Better players will find the reds interesting, and find the blues a great test of top players' skills, especially throwing for distance while hitting tight lines. This is definitely a must play if you're anywhere near here.

- Course makes great use of a lot of land to provide a wide range of holes. Pretty even mix of holes in a hilly forest and open holes with massive treelines and fairway obstacles. Good flow between the inside and outside of the forest.
- Holes outside of the forest constantly provide a ton of different shots, each presenting a good challenge. #12, for instance, is a full length dogleg right that has a well defined entrance to a second fairway. Other highlights include a z-shaped fairway and many genuine bomber holes. There is decent to very good elevation changes on most holes, and the large and low trees make for a lot of tight windows and some very precise pathways.
- Wide range of hole types inside the forest as well. There are some shorter shots, with good variety. Left, right, and straight, with some elevation mixed in at times. Other longer holes have low ceilings and hilly terrain to contend with, as well as wet and dry hazardous spots. Shot placement is critical with direction and distance both being major factors. #7 is a signature hole, which involves getting over a creek (laying up a definite option), and then getting up a hill with a pretty fast green. A few multi-shot holes to be found.
- Creekbed comes into play on a few holes in the forest, and is pretty deep. In addition to some other generally rugged terrain, there are many spots to get into trouble. The rough is not too bad, so recovery shots can be very important. The more dangerous parts are mostly on the more open holes with thick trees and bushes.
- Decent amount of protected baskets and/or sloped greens. For the most part, the baskets have pretty safe landing zones, but there is good punishment outside of the clearings.
- Great baskets and signage. Bricks point to the next tee so navigation is straightforward. Natural/dirt teepads are good when dry, at least.

- The land in general is kind of flat, so there is a fair amount of flat holes. Most of the holes outside the forest have gentle slopes, and only some of the wooded holes have hills and undulating ground to deal with. There is a good variety in terms of up or down, and left or right, though.
- Creek crossings are currently being put in, so there are some spots where you might have to walk around. Not too far out of the way, especially if it's dry.

- A championship course all the way. There is a very good amount of multi-shot holes that demand distance and accuracy, and good shot placement. Setting up for the next throw becomes very important, both inside and outside of the woods. These are complemented well by shorter, tighter holes, and longer, slopng holes. A very well-rounded design.
- This course plays tough from the shorts/shorts, and is a true monster with either of the longs (or both). You can choose from long or extra long, regardless.
- One hole plays next to the entrance road, but overall there is a good sense of seclusion.

The other many reviews on here will give you the idea.
Two tees and two pin placements per hole.
A number of true, par four shots; but not simply made long for the sake of being long. These shots require placement for a possible three, or even a four.
Club is filled with great guys. Contact them and someone will more than likely meet you for play.
Rec. nine from long tees is quite challenging. No one but this crew would call this a "recreational" course. However, after playing the toughness that is the 18, you will be relieved to play the rec nine.
Creek in play on a number of holes.
Titan baskets are quality.

Dirt tees, and it has been wet both times I've been there. This is not the fault of the club; there is a board they must answer to, which doesn't want cement tees at present. Club is working towards making this situation better. Positive response from disc golfing community at large, may help sway them toward rectifying this situation.
Some bridge work has been done since I was first here. A couple more would be useful.

Stellar, (mostly) Dave McCormick design.
Incredibly, partially due to it's location; you will more than likely have this course to yourself; though, I would suggest hooking up with a local for both enjoyment and ease of navigation.

-Very challenging course!!!!!! (major PRO)
-Scenic land
-Good workout (for a decent-medium skilled player)

-Maps not to scale
-Due to poor mapping on the score cards/tee boxes, we did not know where to aim a lot of the time
-More bridges would have been essential(even if they are half rate)
-Slipped on a few drives due to muddy tee boxes.

I would enjoy playing again even though I shot poorly.

*Multi-shot, par 4 & par 5 holes
*Great variety of terrain -- long open bomber holes, tight wooded holes, holes along & over a creek & grassy open wooded holes
*Variety of shots required & hole shapes
*Located in great, huge city park -- course in a DG dedicated area with a nice stone pavillion @ entrance to course
*Not crowded....I played mid-day on a Tuesday & didn't see anyone else playing the entire time
*Multiple teepads
*1st time playing on Titan baskets -- they definitely catch well

*Dirt teepads
*There are 2 sets - long & short - but the longs seemed hardly played to the point of being tough to find & semi-overgrown, so I played the shorts
*easy to lose a disc - i was playing alone & searching on ~ 1/3 of the holes
*lots of blind holes - tough to tell where to throw on more than 1/2 the holes ... seemed like every hole was blind even if it didn't need to be
*many holes overgrown in summer with low-hanging branches; probably a non-issue in other seasons
*a couple of holes ... # 18 in particular ... had no fairway, just throw n' hope you don't hit an early tree

Very good course with potential to be even better with cement teepads

You start out with long bombs on hole #1. If you dare to try from the Blue tee you are throwing over 1000 feet. With the pin in -b- placement the fairway tightens down drastically. A sign of things to come. You have hit the woods and tight and technical are the key words here. You have uphill shots, downhill shots. Hyzer and Anhyzer.
I used all but two discs in my bag on this course. Variety is the spice of life and this place is hot as a jalapeno.
Well maintained and very clean, this park is sweet. Trash cans in convienent places as well as a water drinking fountain and closeby restrooms round out a fantastic experience of great disc golf.

Natural tee pads. Dangerous when wet so watch your step. Not enough benches and finding the blue tees are tough sometime.

Championship quality course. A must play in Southern Illinois. You will never get bored with the variety of holes and shots here. The REC course across the street is well worth the time to play. I really want to see a major tournament held here.

through a round you will have thrown all of the shots in your arsenal other than 3 pars most can not reach green from tee so shot placement is essential! It is challanging, in fact statistics from the 2007 gateway open with
'b placements" had this course the highest ssa (scratch scoring average) of any course (71.6-red and 72.1 from blue). some of the problems with difficulty finding tees have been addressed including wooden guides to next tees on certian holes.

natural teepads (very rough in certian conditions),and poisen ivy is often punishment for a bad throw though if you just throw it in the fairway you will have no problem.three holes go over a creek and only one has a actual crossing( a crooked ladder) but the club have tried to fix this issue.