• Two tees per hole, that actually make a difference in skill level
• Next tee signs
• Practice basket
• In most of the course, fairly easy to navigate. Signage is usually adequate, but not amazing.

• Lot of similarities between many of the holes
• Low-vis baskets
• Some missing signage at important spots
• Drainage issues

This is a 9-hole course running mostly through moderately dense trees. It's distinctly a for-locals course; there's nothing here that would make you want to make any sort of special trip for it. On the other hand, it's has a few things going for it that make it really good for a local course.

Most of the holes range in the 250'-350' distance from the long tees, and 150'-200' from the short tees. The vast majority of them go through moderate density trees. Most of them don't seem to have a planned throwing line, but the trees are never dense enough that you can't find some narrow line to throw on, usually nearly straight ahead. Most of the holes have a very similar look to the others. The baskets have minimal coloration on them, so they fade into the background.

Normally, I would give a course like this a low rating. However, as mentioned earlier, there are a few things that make this a good for-locals course. The first of these is that, if you're going to have a look to repeat over and over through the course, moderate trees is probably as good as you get for it. More importantly, the short tees are actually short tees, not just a few feet closer to the basket. So this is a good course for beginners, families with smaller children, and similar situations, but experienced players can still get a decent experience out of it simply by using the long tees.

There are drainage issues, but I'm not sure how bad it is overall, as I've had limited experience there. I showed up on a day when it had been fluctuating between gentle drizzle and steady drizzle, and there were areas I had to walk around carefully (and definitely be careful how I throw). Given how much rain had come down this day (0.2 inches by the time I was there, according to the national weather service, the only rain in the last 3 days), I would not have expected some standing water, but not 40' wide puddles. There are concrete "steps" leading to hole 7, which, ironically, was one of the less-waterlogged spots on the course.

As mentioned earlier, most of the course is laid out in a straight-ahead-from-tee fashion, and easy to navigate, once you can spot the mostly-grey baskets. The exceptions aren't all that difficult to get through, either. Hole 5 is shown on the sign, but hard to spot when looking for it; the basket on that one is hidden left of the scrub line as you're looking ahead. Hole 7 didn't have a tee sign I could see, but is similar: if you look ahead from the long tee, you'll see the park boundary ahead. The basket doglegs left, and is a bit past the part visible from the tee.

Though it's only nine holes, and that's all they likely have space for, Helke Park DGC is a really nice new course already suited for players from Casual to Intermediate skill levels. Boasting two level, flush, concrete tees per hole and the best of the best Mach X baskets, the design takes advantage of the woods that remain in the park in a really interesting way to create a variety of challenges.

The first holes play amongst the field of stumps they left when they sadly had to cut many of the ash trees, but they were able to leave enough trees to force lines and ceilings. You have options to shape your shots in either direction here. The fourth is kind of a signature hole, with a huge log 2/3rds of the way to the 'terraced' green, where the basket is slightly raised and encircled by stones. Then, for the back half of the course, they've put in even more work defining fairways through the woods to force control on the relatively short distances required.

Nice tee signage at the long tees, with obvious short tees, and next tee arrows under the cages, mean first timers will find their way around fairly easily (especially with the map you can get on here). The course starts just past the blockhouse (bathrooms/concessions in season?) and horseshoe pits at the corner of the parking lot. I used the practice basket on the way back to the car after 9 as a little extra upshot practice.

The park is obviously packed with all the attractions a community might want, but they were still able to make the disc golf course a separate entity, so playing here should be safe from oblivious non-players. In all, it's an excellent installation of a reasonably fun nine hole course, and a good addition to the area. Might make for a fantastic warm up on your way to Englewood!

The lack of available elevation limited the challenge, as did the short hole distances. But the dual tees make this a choice for competitive players; go play the longs for a reasonable par three (235' to 430'), or play the shorts as a 'par two' (145' to 200'). The course flow is really well done, with the exception of the walk from 8 to 9, where first timers have to remember they've already played 6. Finally, the practice basket had to be tucked into an unused space between chain link fences, putting it closer to the 4th tee than the 1st.

The course is new, but extremely well thought out. Just mentioning here that, playing in its first fall, the leaves cover a lot of the usual 'stumplets', so lift your feet to avoid stubbed toes until they get the chance to grind these down!

Reviewer Background as of this writing: flirting with Intermediate skill levels and grandmaster age, I've now had the pleasure of being able to review 271 courses. Thanks to all who build 'em!

First installation of Mach X baskets in the Dayton area.
Concrete tees are backfilled, level with surrounding ground.
Nice "Next Tee" arrows hanging from the basket bottoms to aid navigation.
Practice basket.
Restrooms, shelter house, plenty of parking.

Only nine holes, and no room to add more.
Mach X baskets, like all DGA baskets, can be hard to see in the woods.

This brand new course was installed after the loss of hundreds of ash trees, and the first thing you notice when approaching the first tee is a huge amount of stumps, varying in height from two to five feet high. I spoke to a park crew that were building forms for the short tees, and they said that they were only planning to remove stumps as they started to rot, which may be quite some time. So, while the first two holes seem pretty open from the loss of the ash trees, low shots will be punished by the stumps.

Make no mistake, there are still plenty of trees on this property to make this a very technical course. The short tees are great for beginning players to learn shot shaping, possibly the best I've seen for that purpose. Most beginner courses leave the trees out, so new players don't really learn how to steer around the wooden things like they should from the start. While there are plenty of trees, there are only three holes with any appreciable rough to speak of, which can be so intimidating for new players. Even these holes (6, 7, & 8) are generous fairways that shouldn't scare new players away.

The long tees are challenging for advanced players, with multiple lines, low canopies, and plenty of stumps to frustrate your ground skips and trick shots. Hole 4 has an interesting green with large boulders surrounding it. Hole 7 is a legitimate par four dogleg left through the most dense part of the woods. A few holes may have room for a pro tee, but this may be wishful thinking, because the course pretty much fills up the allotted space. Still, a fun nine hole warm-up course for Englewood or Westbrook Park.

This course is brand new. Short tees will be poured very soon, and signs will be installed shortly. This course is a great complement to Englewood Metropark, just a few miles away to the west.