Altamont, IL

Gilbert Park DGC

1.635(based on 8 reviews)
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1 0
Nicholas W
Experience: 9.4 years 15 played 7 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Altamont DGC 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 23, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

+Grass was cut along most holes
+Signs to signify where to throw

Cons:

-No tee pads
-Very short
-Hard to navigate being so crammed

Other Thoughts:

It was a nice try by the park to put the course in. It's a good use of the area, but not a good design for an avid disc golfer.

Not much variety of holes. It's basically a straight shot to each hole about 200-300yards away each time. A tree here and a utility pole there are the only real throw around obstacles.

The course could use some bridges between the front and back, as you throw over the creek for a hole, but no bridge to get over.

The creek is covered in fireweed, horrible stuff to loose a disc in.

Nice try, just missed the mark for most golfers.
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3 0
Jukeshoe
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.2 years 316 played 268 reviews
1.00 star(s)

So THIS is What's Eating Gilbert Grape.... 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 28, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Located at the far corner of a school property, Gilbert attempts to provide a beginner-friendly course for the school children and local community. Most of the course is flat and grassy, with a small smattering of trees and other random obstacles. In the middle is a strip of woods growing in a small ditch. One side of the course is bounded by thick woods, another by a goat farm. Two holes do throw over the ditch and through the woods (#'s 5 & 9).
- Decent signs. Tee areas are sufficient but not great. The course was in good shape and recently mowed, so it does look to be well-taken care of at the very least.
- Easy deuce-or-die and ace-run golf for all but the freshest of players. Only two holes above 250'...one of those is in the 260's the other 400'-ish.
- #7 uses a light pole as the sole obstacle, the basket located directly behind. Points for trying.

Cons:

- Several aspects of the design are terrible for a beginner course but don't add anything for more experienced discers. The holes that play through (#'s 5 & 9) and along (#6) the woods are terrible for beginners struggling with accuracy. The rough/schule is way punishing, and the ditch where a lot of discs might end up is full of all kinds of nasties. Not a good way to introduce kids to the sport.
- Furthermore, #8 throws directly at a fenced off maintenance shed. Easy as pie for a beginner to end up inside, with no chance of disc retrieval. Just horrible design.
- The first two holes had (literally) crap everywhere in the fairway. WTH?

Other Thoughts:

- The first several holes are throwaways. #5 gets a bit interesting, 6-8 are laughable, and #9 is basically the exact same as #5.
- I just shook my head and rode on down the road.
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2 0
radiotalent
Experience: 12.5 years 10 played 3 reviews
2.00 star(s)

A quaint course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 16, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Sign showing the entire course layout by hole one. Good baskets. Tee boxes are (with the exception of hole 4) marked with reasonable diagrams. Park is well mowed and there is ample parking. Layout is basic but utilizes the limited topography well. Several ace potentials for moderately skilled players.

Cons:

Tee boxes could use some more gravel/limestone and definition as the grass is starting to take them over. The tee box signs are often facing what I felt was a counter intuitive direction. As of this review, hole four was missing it's tee box sign and was a bit tricky to find.

Other Thoughts:

While probably not worth driving expressly for, you're only a short drive to Effingham or St Elmo (when it's playable) and is a good warm up. New and rec players should enjoy the fairly short course and be able to succeed quickly on it.
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0 0
gregwil2
Experience: 13.5 years 61 played 9 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Decent...Just missing some signs 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 25, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Decent layout flow especially with the limited are provided. Used as creek tree line on hole 5 with a mando from one side of the trees to the hole on the right. Then Hole 9 strait back through those same woods but further down to end up where hole 1 starts. There are heavy duty concrete bridges through the woods and over what would be a small stream if there wasn't a drought. All tees have crushed limestone that are in a V shape. All tees also have sign poles ready to be utilized.

Cons:

There is no signs anywhere. When I first pulled up it took me a while to figure out where to start. The poles are in place and just begging for some signs. With signs I would give it a 2.5-3.0. There is a playground that could come into play, but it looked pretty old so I'm not sure if its used much. Hole 8 has a fenced in power station that the hole plays semi-close where discs could be lost.

Other Thoughts:

This little park is pretty decent. For new players it is a great mix to learn with having mostly short holes, one long hole, a mando and some trees, but not too many. For experience players you can work on your mid-range/short game and then air it out once for the long hole. Like I said before, would be a pretty decent course with some signs so I hope they get put up.
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0 0
stach23
Experience: 13.7 years 27 played 7 reviews
2.00 star(s)

It's small and fun!!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 20, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Mach 2 baskets, short enough to play several times in a row.

Cons:

Not marked at all; confusing first time playing.

Other Thoughts:

I played this course because I was playing St. Elmo's and decided to see what Gilbert Park was all about. People can say all they want, I love this course. To me, it's like miniature golf. This course redefines short, but I like it that way. My home course is Centralia, so I'm used to the 4-5 star courses, but a course like this is needed for a little break every once in a while. And it's addicting! The first 9 I played, I wanted to shoot better, so I played again, and shot better, and again, and shot better...ended up playing 4 times consecutively and had a blast. I live 40 miles from the course, so I probably won't make a special trip to just play that course, but if I'm going up north that way, or play Effingham or St. Elmo, I am definitely stopping by here agin!
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0 0
bwilson217
Experience: 16.1 years 77 played 7 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Beginner Friendly 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 24, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

One of the best features about this course is the Mach 2 baskets. All 9 baskets are in excellent condition and catch very well. Also, this course has a majority of beginner friendly holes that will allow for advanced and pro players alike to work on their short game. One of the holes (hole 4) allows you to really let er rip. It provides a good contrast to the shorter holes. The course plays fairly quickly so you can run through it a couple of times and be on your way.

Cons:

The course does not have a course map or tee signs. So it is difficult to find your way around. The tee pads are crushed gravel and were difficult to find because the grass has grown up around the pads.

Other Thoughts:

This nine hole course is located in the back of a youth baseball complex. I imagine this course being played mostly by beginners and this is the perfect place to introduce people to the game. The course has respectable baskets and the holes are challenging enough to make it interesting. It was a fun quick play and recommend it to you if you are trying to get a FAST round in.
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3 1
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.7 years 831 played 777 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Decent city park course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 20, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through a mostly flat city park with a small creek that comes into play on a couple holes. Most of the holes are fairly open with some scattered trees, and a couple holes bring the small wooded area along the creek into play for some more defined lines to hit. There is a mix of hole lengths, from shorter ace runs to a couple holes that are reachable but longer, and one 400'+ hole where you can stretch out a little. The baskets are in great shape and catch well. The tees are level and roomy.

Cons:

The course has a couple interesting holes where you have to hit a line, otherwise it's a fairly bland and open city park course. It's an ok course for people to try the sport, but it's got enough length that some new players will be frustrated by it. The tees are crushed limestone, which is mostly ok in dry weather but they get really rutted, muddy and unstable in worse weather. There are no tee signs, so when there is snow on the ground you can't find the tees, and even when it's clear you don't know where to throw or how long the holes are.

Other Thoughts:

This course has a couple fun holes, and isn't a bad place to play a quick round or to take a beginner who won't be intimidated by a couple longer holes where they might have to throw a few times. Otherwise, it's a decent beginner course with enough obstacles to keep newer players interested. More experienced players probably won't find enough challenge or variety to keep them coming back repeatedly.
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3 0
hognosesucker
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.5 years 443 played 87 reviews
1.50 star(s)

another addition to the IL I70 family 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Gilbert is a brand new recreational 9 holer with some shot variety ranging from short holes to a couple longish holes and wide open holes to a couple holes that play through a strip of timber.
-A decent amount of park style golf here with mature trees to weave around and through on the front 4 and a couple shots through a wooded strip.
-Concrete pads look likely here as the pads have already been cut out of the grass.
-1 dogleg right shot through the woods (hole 5)
-OB barbed wire fence on hole 6...beware.
-Looks like this has the possiblity to be a good gym course as there are a couple of schools within walking distance.

Cons:

-Short overall...the majority of the holes are less than 300' except for hole 4 which is probably about 450' and is a decent hole.
-no tee signs yet, but they don't really need it yet as the course is fairly straight forward and all the baskets are brand new and numbered.

Other Thoughts:

So pretty much the course plays park style (mature trees in the fairways with lines around and between them but fairly open) for the first 5 holes and hole 9. 6,7, and 8 are wide open( read few obstacles) and short. Don't lose your disc on hole 8 as there is a fenced and locked power sub station.
The design team did a nice job with the land they had and made this very enjoyable for rec and beginner players
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