*One of the best courses I have ever played, deserved a rating of at least a 4.5, but i will get to that below.
*Multiple tee pads, great use of terrain, challenging (but accessible) pins, multiple angles of attack on each basket.
*Just overall a great course and cannot wait to go back.
*2 courses in one park is awesome as well, I played both in one day.

*I would love to hear the reason the city has for no signs at either of the 2 courses in this park, I take that back there was one sign, and it had a "layout" of the course, but didn't tell you which of the 2 courses it was for. *Not a single sign on any hole, I don't know how many times I walked the fairway before a throw just so i could have some idea of where the basket was, and knowing distance would have been a huge help as well.
*It would also be helpful to add disc golf -> to the entrance way signs. Got lucky and found one course, wasn't until hole 3 that i was confident which course I was even on.
*Trying to find the next tee was an adventure too. They have these little markers on some of the basket sleeves, but a lot of them are missing, and still weren't that great.

I honestly believe that if the powers that be at this park put just a little bit of time and effort into that course, seriously just add course maps at hole 1, then some tee pad signs, and markers at the baskets leading to the next tee pad. They do just this and this becomes one of the best pair of courses around. Would be the perfect place for tournaments.

Best course in spfld

Worse course in spfld for signs ,no par numbers , or footage distances, and grass management.

Love this course, but the reluctance to put down signage well just sucks.playing here since last Feb. And still don't know what par is for this course on the holes them selves. Don't go by the sign by no#1 that sign was several designs ago. Other than the signage and no par#s this is the best course in town hands down.

- Red/White/Blue tee pads, some shared
- Multiple pin placements
- Very challenging layout
- Lots of risk reward
- A few risky greens especially #4, #11, and #14.
- Shot placement and smart play are a necessity
- Many true par 4s
- This course is a little more removed from the rest of the park.
- Lots of other activities at the course, including the water park.

- This course is in need of some serious tree trimming!!!! Low hanging braches everywhere really destroy the lines. A few holes with this feature are OK but when they are an overwhelming feature it becomes a bit much.
- The cement tee pads are nice but they are not level with the ground around them. making timing-steps and run-ups not safe. Worst part is the longest holes have the worst issue.
- No descriptive tee signs. Lots of walking the fairway to find the hole.
- Water (personally i am not a fan of water OB. losing your disc to OB is lame. A permanently marked OB circle is just as effective and no one loses a disc. (not holing against the course)
- Holes #3, #5, and #12 are stupid. there are no real lines at the basket. Chuck n' pray holes.

**Played in the 2011 Mother Lode on the Mother Road from blue tees**
The South course is far more challenging than the North. Shot placement and accuracy are very important to score well. This course will really test ADV players and provide a good challenge to PRO players. I would say True par from blue tees is around 57-58, with holes #4, #11, and #14 being true par 4s. Holes #6, #13, and #18 being par 3.5.
Hole #4 is a tricky beast. The pond next to the basket is nasty. Choice and execution are essential for good scores. Not many birdie opportunities so get them while you can.

This course is a 4 disc layout. But... there are some things that seriously take away from its quality. They could easily be fixed/improved.
First, hole #3 ranks in my top 5 for stupidest holes ive ever played. the line from the tee doesnt complete go to the basket. you have to count on your disc crashing through and getting "lucky".
Second, holes #5 and #12 are clear Chuck'n'pray holes. There is no true line at the basket. Greens are overly protected and need to have some definitive line cleared. Also, those pillars on #5 would be awesome if you could incorporate those into the hole design.
Third, low hanging braches are insane. You are forced to constantly disc up to make the distances. Im 6'2" and walking down the fairway i was ducking under branches alot. You are forced to disc up constantly if you want to make the distances.
Forth, the tee pads on several holes are sometimes a couple inches above the ground. I personally like to take a couple of timing steps leading into my x-step. the teepads themselves are long enough for just my x-step. So i found myself catching the teepad edge often. the worst part is that the longest hole on the course, #11, was the worst culprit.

With that said, this is a fantastic course. I highly recommend this and North. I am truly jealous of those in Springfield with such great home courses.

This is the more technical and hillier course of the two in Lincoln Park. There is more brush and woods in play to really punish errant drives, and a lot more holes with fun elevation changes. There are a couple fun downhill shots, and some tricky uphills mixed in. Most of the course plays through grassy park areas with mature trees, offering multiple lines and often a lower ceiling to contend with. A few shots play through the woods to add some tighter lines.

There is a pretty good mix of right and left turning holes here, it felt pretty balanced. There are long 'tournament' settings for most pins, and those also looked like they offered a great variety of lines to hit while adding quite a bit of length and difficulty. There is a good mix of lengths out here too, with a few longer holes where most players will pull out a driver, and lots of short to medium length holes that are reachable but only with a good shot.

The tees are mostly concrete, and are in nice shape. The few holes that don't have concretes yet will get them soon, so that wasn't a big issue. The tees are marked with nice posts that have the hole number and which tee you're playing, as many holes have alternate tees. The distance to the pin is painted on most tees, and there are next tee markers at the base of every pin.

There are some navigation issues, even with the next tee markers. Some areas of the course have several tees and baskets close together so it occasionally takes some time to figure out where to go next. Some of the sections of the course felt a little repetitive, when you're using park style terrain it's difficult to make that different of holes at times.

The tournament pin placements looked like they would add a lot of fun and challenge, but they also bring roads into play quite a bit more and I don't think they're used all that often. The new holes in the woods need some work. They aren't cleared out, so they're just poke n pray type shots right now, and don't fit at all with the rest of the course.

This is a fun course with some nice challenges, and especially with another course onsite it's definitely worth a stop. Beginners will find some length and some holes that are a little punitive of errant shots, but overall it's not too frustrating for newer players. More experienced players will find some nice challenges, with some rewarding birdie opportunities mixed in.

Tee pads and markers, although the markers were in the process of being updated to a new layout. Good baskets. Wide variety of shots and hole types kept the course interesting.

For the beginner, this is a more challenging course than the north one. The course was going through some changes and a couple of holes were difficult to follow but that will be corrected as the course markers are updated. The course is more closed in on several holes with some thick woods and narrow, narrow fairways. A lagoon can cause problems on a couple of holes as well. I did lose a disc in the lagoon after it hit off a tree and landed in the water.

This course seems better for the more advanced player. Less so for a beginner like myself and my wife. It is a really good course - very challenging. But if you are still new to the sport, play the north course. My wife and I enjoyed that one more as we had more fun and lower scores.

This is one of the prettiest parks I've ever had the pleasure of playing in. The park is very well maintained with such a variety of activities available there (playgrounds, shuffle board, horseshoes, ice rink, ball fields, and of course the 2 18 hole disc golf courses). The terrain on the south course is an ideal setting for disc golf with nice elevation changes, water, a few heavily wooded holes, a few more open holes, every hole has amazing big mature trees. The course has really nice concrete tee pads (multiple tees) and nice DGA baskets. Most holes have interesting multiple pin locations as well. It is a very difficult course with some really long holes with a couple shorter ones thrown in. Very nice mix of hyzer/anhyzer shots on this course.

The course that is there is a very challenging yet fun mix of holes to play. Having said that...I have played the course twice (with two different layouts because of the new north course now)...and both times that I have played have been so frustrating because the signage is so poor. I was using a map off of this site and got so lost on the course. The tee's and baskets are not numbered correctly and the middle section of the course where multiple holes are close together are very hard to navigate (not knowing where to go). I didn't even play all 18 because I didn't know which hole was next and so forth...I just had to ignore the incorrect signage and guess which was the next hole. This is such an easy fix with some proper signage on the tees and baskets...AND some simple signs pointing you in the right direction for the next hole...I can't believe that this solution hasn't already been addressed.

I REALLY like this course...but can't give it a higher rating simply due to the fact that the fun I had out there was so tempered by my frustration at it taking so long because I couldn't find my way around. This would be one of my favorite courses if and when this is addressed. Springfield is a great town with a good disc golf community...that is why it surprises me that they haven't made it easier for non-locals to enjoy this beautiful course.

-really nice facilities: ample parking, 2 practice baskets, bathrooms, water
-2 pin placements per hole and 1 to 3 tee boxes per hole
-good mix of shots: hyzers, anhyzers, straight, short and long holes
-great elevation changes, lots of downhill shots, and some subtle uphill shots
-great use of OB: there are roads all over the place here, a couple yards, and a couple water shots that make you think about shot placement
-new 18 hole park

-the layout is strange and somewhat confusing, less so if you play the longs
(for instance- after hole 6 you cross a road for one hole then you see the next logical tee pad which happens to be 12 but actually you go back and play to a pin right by 6's pin (which could also be confusing) then continue to 9, 10, and 11. Where the more logical layout would have been 1-6, then 9-11, 8, 7 then to 12, but I'm just being picky.The 15-18 loop could also be fixed.

-Really all these layout problems could be fixed with some navigation signs or arrows. for instance a sign for 2-3, 7-8, 11-12, 17-18

-There is no double loop in the layout, so 9 ends nowhere near the parking lot and 18 is also a hike back to the lot. However I'm not going to drop my rating for this as it will be fixed once Lincoln North is in.

-this park is also very multiuse, there is a cross country course, playgrounds, I even saw some kids playing live action role playing (and yes, it was hilarious), and lots of oblivious walkers, so you need to be careful when throwing, especially near roads
-tee signs are at the blue pads, and while decent enough there is no indication of the current layout's pin placement
-after a rain, be careful on the tee pads, I slipped once and so did my buddy.

All in all, this course is one of my favorites in Illinois, it's got that classic city park dgc feel, except it is a head higher than your good city park. It is really a great course when played from the longs, you'll not be disappointed. And with the addition of the North course, which is a different type of course entirely, this will be a great complex. The club here is also really helpful, jump on sdgc's forum at www.discgolfclub.org , and get a local to play with you. Also bring a course map when you play, and the frustration of navigating this beast will improve.

-Parking with map at start.
-Multiple (3) Tees & (2) Pins
-Variety of & Challenging Holes
-Good use of Scenic area
-Restrooms, Shelter House, some Water fountains, & Picnic Tables
-Practice Putting Pins
-Easy to find

-Hole to hole navigation tough first time
-Hole maps only on farthest tees
-Very few water fountains
-Have to watch for people/cars
-18 doesn't end near parking lot

Make sure you are aiming for the right pins. With multi-tee and pin location It's easy to skip holes by accident or get lost and confused.

This course is a looker, no doubt. Placed all around the south side of park. Many Large trees billowing down allowing different technical shots. Nice, long walk too. Not too many non-frolfers to get in the way and located in the best part of springfield (personal opinion). From long fairways to hillside obstacles, truly a fun place to play.

I started playing this course only half a year ago and for a year now their has been so called "promised" renovation being done. Holes 1 & 2 are plagued with dirt mounds (1 is easy to get over, just don't throw it left, 2, the dirt mounds create a water hazard only replace the water with dirt and after rain, unforgiving mud) The "renovation" also effects 4, where once a pretty grassy plain was and now a dirt-ridden massacre. Once more construction comes into play on 17, forcing an unofficial tee, usually on top of the steps at the pavilion. Watch out for cars! and do not throw late on 14 by 5th street, for the probability of landing your disc on the only house with a flat roof has just gone up.

Granted the mess on 17, It's still quite a challenge from the strange elevation. Besides frolfin', it's a great place to chill at.

I love the huge old trees they've got, and the length is right there for all the long arms out there...but that's not me...i can throw in the 350 range and I'll consistently get a +4 to +7 at this place...good mix of technical and distance though...

the pond in the middle is nasty...super nasty...

apparently there is a pond renovation of sorts taking place...hopefully that doesn't disturb the course...