- A very popular course that most of all is just fun to play. A little on the short side, but considering they got 18 holes successfully packed into a just 15(!!!) acre park, it's actually quite impressive.
- Playground and park shelter at center of park.
- Decent elevation changes mixed in throughout the course (1, 2, 6, 13, 15, 16, 18). Nothing epic, but enough to make you notice it and change shots.
- Big concrete tees.
- While not a wooded course, there are plenty of tighter holes mixed in that make it a little bit more than your typical recreational park course. Holes 4, 5, 10, and 16 come to mind.
- #2 - A shorter downhill hole that gives you a few options for drives, but all with pretty small windows when everything is green.
- #5 - Probably the tightest of holes on the course. Picking a line and executing on this hole can be difficult if you want that deuce.
- #15 - Big valley drive that rewards distance doubly, as it's very easy to end up in the bottom and need extra distance on the upshot.

- Not really any par 4 type holes. It's very much a recreational course in this way. But, as noted above, with only a small area to work with you couldn't really design anything really long into the course.
- Decent navigation with signs and map, but a pretty poor layout. No holes cross each other, but you have to cross some fairways and backtrack lots of times to get to the next tee pad.
- For experienced players, not hitting your line is not likely to result in a full stroke penalty - just a longer upshot.
- #3 - Essentially drives over the park driveway. You can see oncoming cars, but it's still not desirable.
- #10 - I can't claim to be its biggest fan. It's got an oddly protected pin location that always feels funky. It may just be that I never seem to have a good look at a putt after my drive.

- This is a great 18 hole course that is not punishing for beginners, and yet very fun for seasoned veterans. A great home course for all skill-types of the greater Bloomington/Normal area.
- While holes are generally packed in tightly on this course, there's not a ton of issues with overlap.
- Although it's pretty well right in the middle of town, it somehow almost feels like a county park out in the middle of nowhere.

This is my home course, so I am going to be slightly biased. But I have played every major course in central IL over the past year and I can say with confidence this is a solid park.

- Good elevation changes
- Good use of trees
- Excellent Tee Pads
- Baskets in good shape
- Protected well from wind (on windy days this is my go to place)
- Isolated from car traffic
- Solid variety of holes

- Smaller park than some
- Not much of a punishment for stray shots
- Mini ghetto nearby
- Grass gets really tall on back 9 during late summer
- Gets busy in the summer

They recently changed this to a 9 hole course. Completely new layout. I will update this review when it is completed.

Well taken care of. Great baskets.

If this course was ever busy, it would be terrible. fairways are right next to each other. Holes are boring. Holes 15 and 16 are real nice. Do not park on the west side of the parking lot if you like your paint job. Hole 2 heads straight for the lot.

this course is good if you are trying to work on your game. NOT a tournament course. I do love this course, however not worth driving very far for.

PJ Irvin is a short, easy course and a nice compliment to Maxwell Park. Whereas Maxwell is literally wide open PJ Irvin actually has some obstacles to navigate. Here are my pros:

1) This course is a breeze to play. In the time that it takes to play some courses once you can probably play this course twice. Its a great course for beginners and a good course to practice midrange discs.

2) The park actually has a secluded feel and is not nearly as busy as the other 18 hole disc golf course in town. I love the feel of being outside and in nature and even though this is a public park its never too busy. Its a peaceful park and has a nice playground for kids.

3) Two pin placements per hole. This is actually a rarity for Central Illinois disc golf as most courses only have one pin placement (Maxwell being the other that does that I can think of). This at least allows some nice variety.

4) The course has nice concrete tees.

5) For being in such a small park the course actually has some decent elevation. Typical Central Illinois courses do not have a lot of elevation but PJ Irvin has some nice elevation.

6) If you are a fan of trees this course has them. And it has some BIG trees.

I think PJ Irvin is a typical and average course. Thus the 2.5 rating. There are a few issues that bring the rating down a little but essentially the designer did well with the land that was given. This park is VERY small and it would have been impossible to get a championship level course in this park. Here are my cons:

1) As I alluded to above, this park is very tiny. As such, some of the holes actually feel a bit claustrophobic because some of the holes are very close to each other. On a busy day this could make some of the shots borderline dangerous. This really couldn't be avoided because the park is so small so just keep an eye out for discs.

2) This course is essentially par 3 golf. There are no par 4's and only one hole over 400 feet. There wasn't room for anything more than that but its tough for me to rate a course "Very Good" or above without much variety in the length.

3) There was not a lot of variety in the foliage, but this couldn't be avoided. The course is set in a park with mature trees and no real "wooded" holes. Its not a huge con because the land is what it is.

4) The course also really doesn't penalize bad shots. In a way I have already alluded to this, but the course doesn't provide a huge challenge and therefore bad shots really won't be penalized. This isn't really a knock on the designer because I don't think I would have done a better job but more just a comment that the land didn't allow for much more.

This is a great course to play if you are short on time. In fact, pairing this with Maxwell Park across town makes for an easy and fun day. This course is not too challenging but is a nice and easy walk in the park and a good course for beginners.

Not too many trees
Some changing elevations
Many different shots required
Recently updated tee signs (within the last year)
Basket rotation multiple times a year
Nice condition baskets

Sometimes muddy on the lower lying holes

1) Posts indicate the tees and have a sign with Hole #, a map, distance, OB, multiple pin locations.
2) Huge trapezoidal concrete tees are always my favorite!
3) Practice basket is available near the first tee.
4) Kiosk is located by the parking lot and close to the first tee.
5) Nice use of moderate rolling elevation. There are only a few dramatic drops, but everything has at least a slight elevation change.
6) Lots of mature and young trees to help create the shot shaping. The mature trees seem to be in good condition so hopefully they last for a long time.
7) A handful of really unique holes and hole design. There aren't a lot of "signature" holes but there are some interesting unique shots and hole types.
8) Mix of completely open, somewhat open with trees forcing specific sots, tighter shot shaping holes, rollers, and even a couple of prairie holes that are not just boring and wide open.
9) Painted rungs on the baskets point you to the next hole.
10) Mulch is used in good spots, while it doesn't really prevent the erosion, it covers up the dirt that would be mud.
11) Distance variation is pretty good, ranging from low 200's to mid 300's and one over 400. While remaining beginner friendly it also exposes players to a slightly longer hole.
12) It's nice to see no mow areas (on the prairie holes because there is no reason to mow wall to wall in this park. I understand why the front side of the course is all mowed but that would also encourage other park users to congregate in those areas. However in the back where disc golf is the only activity there is no reason to mow those areas.
13) The turf is in great condition and the park seems to be very well maintained, especially when compared to Forrest Park next door.

1) Rusty old Discatchers. Some of the baskets are also leaning.
2) Signs are leaning in places, but it doesn't affect the information.
3) This 18 hole course is set on a property where I feel like 9-12 holes might have been more appropriate. There are multiple places where skips could get into the parking lot, play areas, other tee areas, other fairways, roads, etc. I enjoyed my round and there was no one else around so it didn't affect me but in summer I imagine it might be tougher and more people would be in danger. The most dangerous place to be on the course would be 13 fairway and 14 tee because all of the throws that do not stay turned over on #12 will end there. I went right over #14 tee and almost into 13 fairway and while not blind it is a long way and people might not see the discs coming. #4 and 5 fairway are set right next to each other, the same distance, and would be proned to receiving poor throws from the other hole.
4) There are a few places where erosion is an issue, specifically Hole #13 on the edge of the woods and the sideslope that is the basket location.
5) There aren't any really dense foliage holes except for #13 green area. I like more wooded courses so the added variety would have been preferred, but this park just didn't have any areas like this for the designer to use.

This was course number 2 on my nearly 100 course month long road trip. It was an upgrade from Forrest across the street and a nice place to keep the momentum going. I had a good time, but it's a shame things are so crammed in a few spots because there looks to be more room available over by #1 and #18 area. There also could have been some shorter ace run type holes to stagger some of the tees and such which would have allowed a safer park. The disc golf was fun, but the other things cannot be ignored completely.

Beautiful course and park with a lot of interesting elevation change especially for central Illinois. Very well maintained, and great tee pads and signs. Easy to navigate. Variety of shots. Overall a very enjoyable course to play.

The course is relatively short with very few big holes. A few of the holes on the front 9 specifically are very cramped and the fairways are kind of overlapping each other.

The course is a blast to play. It's not incredibly challenging but it is definitely challenging enough for it to still be a lot of fun. Definitely worth a trip, and Maxwell is only 15 minutes away.

-Very nice park with old white oaks and plenty of planted trees
-Great use of steep hills/One of the most interesting pieces of land I have ever seen
-A lot more variety of shots than Maxwell park in Normal
-Wooded area is a good buffer to the wind

-The course feels very cramped the majority of the time
-Some long walks in between holes, sometimes so long you could put in an extra hole between the basket and the pad
-Bad location: at the very edge of town.
-Tough to navigate because it is so cramped
-No driving range type holes

There are two big factors above the rest. On one hand you have an excellent park with large steep hills that make for some great shots. On the other hand the course is so cramped with fairways being very tight together in some parts. The former wins out which is why this course gets an above average rating.

- pretty course, with very large oaks and rolling hills
- good concrete tee pads
- mostly good use of hills, trees, other terrain features

- some of the holes felt repetitive, either because they were too straight or too short
- some of the hole description sheets at the tees were missing

Stopped by this course on a trip to Champaign. Was worth the stop, though I doubt I'd go out of my way to play it again rather than play a different course along my route.

+Well maintained fairways
+Variety of shots
+Grounds are well utilized, not many tweaks could be made to improve the course layout
+Easy parking
+Good amount of trees, few old growth oaks
+Nice tee pads
+Few joggers/other park users
+Alternate pin positions
+Great course flow

-Signage isn't always clear or available
-Not a lot of challenging lines
-Pretty standard public park course

PJ is a great everyday kind of course for leagues and practice. Unfortunately even in the longs there isn't always a great challenge to the course. If you're passing through Bloomington-Normal this course is definitely worth a play through.

P.J. Irving is an mostly open course with trees in just the right places to make it a real challenge for players of all levels. Where there aren't trees, there are fun elevation changes. This course will challenge the distance drives of most recreational and intermediate players. Some specific things I like about this course:

*Two pin placements at each hole
*Nice Baskets
*Scenic Park
*Nice Tee pads
*Challenging lines on most drives
Favorite hole: 12

Not a whole lot to say about these, so I will list them by bullet point:

*Last time I played this course, there was a cone where one of the pin placements for hole #1 should have been, and hole #18 was in the other pin placement... wasn't sure what to do!

*A few of the pin placements eliminate some of the exciting challenges of the course

*Many tee signs are either not accurate or not present

P.J. Irving is a nice 18 hole course that features several challenging holes that force straight drives. If your drive isn't perfect, you will still likely have an open shot at the hole for your second shot. Thus, PJ Irving is a nice place to take disc golfers of all skill levels. In competition for the best course in the Bloomington-Normal area.

1. Nice landscaping
2. Good trees forcing thoughtful shots
3. Well taken care of
4. Nice variety of holes

1. Poorly marked holes
2. Par seems arbitrary on many holes
3. Very high grass on the back nine can lead to some long searching for discs

Not a bad course I enjoyed playing it and will come back every time I am in Bloomington.

- Nice Cement Tee Pads
- Fun holes
- Park is secluded
- Elevation is well used
- Trees and natural features are well utilized
- Multiple Pin Placements
- Variety of shots to score well.
- Great course for REC and INT players
- Practice Basket (I assume)
- Playground for the Kids

- Bad Tee Signs, many missing. Those that did have signs had water damage and are faded.
- The main reason I am not giving this a 3 is because of the navigation and criss-crossing fairways. Many holes encroach on one another. The holes ended up great but the design could have been modified without taking away from the course and not have this problem.
- Chuckers + College/HS Students = Bad Time (Not courses fault just giving fair warning)
- Smart play is not required to play the course
- Little to no penalty for poor play

This is Bloomington-Normal's Best course. The holes are interesting and fun. The majority of the holes are well thought out and use of the land is optimal. Unfortunately there are some holes that encroach on each other. I'm also not a fan of the holes that play over the road and parking lot.
A good INT player should be able to carve this course up. If you have a 350' and under semi accurate drive you will have many birdie attempts. There is only a few holes that truly punish arrant shots. ADV and PRO players will have fun but will have little challenge.
This is a great course for REC players to work and develop their game. Make sure to bring your control driver and mid-range game.
This course is definitely worth a quick stop by to play. I would rather play 2-3 rounds here than play one round here and another at Maxwell. It's a very short drive from the main highway. If the course is packed Forrest Park is seconds away and amusing to play.

- A good variety of holes. Uphill, downhill, left, and right. Also mature trees are a factor throughout the course.
- A quiet and clean park. Always a pleasure going to this course because you know it will be a good experience.
- Coming from Champaign, IL, it's nice to play in some concrete tees.
- Not much else going on at this park besides disc golf. There is a playground, but it is really never a factor on any hole. You won't have to worry interfering with another event.
- Alternate pin placements are changed a few times a year to keep things fresh and will create new approaches to holes if they start to feel redundant.

- It is a smaller park, and kind of amazing they got 18 holes on it. Because of this, there are a couple of holes where you walk back in the previous fairway to get to the next hole. During rec play it isn't a big deal, but in tournament play you will have to wait until they clear out.
- If you're a lefty, the cars in the parking lot could be a factor on hole #2. I'm being nit picky here. I'm a lefty and I haven't hit a car (yet).
- Flooding issues on hole 3 after a good rain, but you can work around it.

I enjoy driving from Champaign over to the Bloomington-Normal area to play this course and Maxwell. The area also has a disc golf club that plays weekly tournaments and it seems to be doing well. I've never played in any of their local tournaments, but have played in a PDGA tournament here. Don't mind making the 45 minute drive to play disc golf here. If you're from out of town, you will enjoy playing in Bloomington-Normal.

The course plays through a city park with some nice hills and lots of mature trees. There is not much underbrush to really punish errant shots, but the trees are used well to make a nice variety of hole shapes and types. Many holes play up, own or across the hills, nothing too dramatic but enough to add challenge and variety. There is a nice variety of hole lengths from ace runs to holes where most players will pull out a driver, including a couple fun downhill shots. For how open the park feels, you have to hit some different lines to be successful here.

The baskets are in good shape and catch well, and are marked with direction to next tee making the course easy to follow. There are basic tee signs showing distance and layout. Most holes have dual pin positions that looked like they would change up the course and add some variety if they are moved regularly. The tees are nice concrete pads with decent grip and enough space.

The layout is odd here, with lots of long walks and backtracking. It would be different if these were used to get to outstanding holes, but it just seems like the flow wasn't too important to the course designer. The signs are faded and hard to read, and they don't show the current pin position.

The land available was used pretty well here, but the park just doesn't have the room or the obstacles to make a championship level course. It gets a little repetitive at times, and has some throw away holes that make it less interesting. There wouldn't be great scoring spread here in competitive play, with hole lengths that lend themselves to lots of 3s and no punishment to turn bad drives into bogeys or worse.

This is a fun course with some cool holes, but overall just doesn't really have anything all that special. It's the best of the courses in the area, and definitely worth a quick stop if you're passing through. It's a little long for true beginners, but throwers with a little experience will find this course a great place to learn to shape some different lines and fill out different parts of their game. More experienced players won't find any major challenges, but it's an enjoyable easy round.

-nicely designed course..
-variety of shots
-sidearm and backhand shots
-both long and short shots to be able to throw as far as you want and more technical shots..
-nice concrete teepads and baskets..
-fairways and rough included in the course
-great location in town very nice neighborhood.

-course is very wet if it rained the day before
-some areas need to be mowed down a little as i was walking in weeds up to my knees..
-walking from 11's tee from 12 was a little confusing for the first time i played and from 8 to 9's as well.
-also walking from 8 to 9 you have to watch out for other discs flying at you since you walk back on the fairway of 8 to get to 9..
- some benches would be great on some holes to be able to sit if you have to wait..

this course was really nice and i enjoyed the course very much.. i only thought that it could have been mowed a little on some area's of the course.. throwing hole 12 pretty much blind in the field where grass was up to my shins was kinda hard to find the disc.. other than that i thought the course was very well maintained and a very good course to visit if you were driving through i will be driving back there again..

-Big, beautiful trees.
-Good mix of shots. Even long time players will have to work on some of the shots.
-Park is fairly well maintained and in a decent neighborhood.
-Probably the best course that could be put into the ground at this park.

-This course is super mushy after it rains.
-Fairways lie too close to each other on many shots, especially on the front 9. Enough so that I've dubbed it the PJ effect.
-Some the shots can be very frustrating for a beginner.

-You may want an extra towel if it just rained.
-Watch the out of bounds on 2 and 3. As you'll be throwing right next to people's property.
-Heads up when playing on 3,4,5; 6,7; 12,13,14...fairways are tight.
-Walk up the hill before you throw on 6. The basket is pretty much straight away or to the left depending on the pin position. Also you'll want to check that you're not throwing into anybody.
-Watch for out of bounds on 9...especially in the long. Its a high risk/high reward shot.
-11 is my nemesis. The branches on those trees are lower than you think.
-Careful on 12, its real easy to finish way left on that shot.
-18 looks intimidating, but a roller works real well. If you have trouble spotting the hole, just throw straight ahead through the trees, you'll get there eventually.
-13 is a fun shot. It's also always longer than you think it is.

This is a very nice neighborhood park. It's a very quiet area and a well kept park. It's very clean and relaxing. The park is mowed nicely and has mature trees scattered throughout most of it. Much of the course plays in the shade of trees. There are some nice small rolling hills that add a bit of elevation change.

The course designer did an excellent job utilizing every inch of the park. There are some nice lines and fun holes. You will learn how to play disc golf here.

There is a nice variety with 2 pin placements.

Although there are no super tunnel holes it has several holes where you have to throw straight lines to net birdies.

The equipment is very nice. The tee pads are nice and big. The tee signs are adequate with both pin positions and accurate distances. The baskets are new Innova Discatchers.

This course is pretty easy to navigate and is very beginner friendly. A rung on each basket is painted in the direction of the next tee pad.

This course is on the short side and there is very little rough to penalize bad shots.

The land does not have the space to add difficulty or length to get a higher rating. I felt the course designer did a great of maximizing potential of this land.

This course is not very far off the interstate. If I had to choose one of the Bloomington/Normal courses this is the one i'd play. There is another 9 hole right across the street. Both 18 hole courses are very nice walks in the park and do not take very long to play. If you are traveling thru Central Illinois they are both solid options to get out and stretch your legs.

Here are some nice photos of the course.
http://discontinuum.org/index...itemId=243829

Check out my Illinois Top 10
http://discontinuum.org/index...1486.msg68704#msg68704

- Course is located in a beautiful, semi-secluded, well-maintained park with large oak trees and slightly hilly terrain.
- Most holes are short (200-300 ft) but well-designed, using trees and elevation to create tight lines from tee to pin.
- Two pin positions for each hole offer lots of replay value. The course plays 4-5 strokes harder in the longest pin positions.
- The course has something for everyone - lefty and righty routes, long bombs, short technical shots, wide open fariways and tiny windows requiring a perfect shot to reach the putting area. Some holes are deuce-able by beginning players, while other holes are a tough 2 even for pro level players.
- The course design is excellent, using every square inch of a smallish park while avoiding overlap or traffic issues.
- Navigation from hole to hole is logical and easy to follow.

- Course can get "mushy" after a rain, with large puddles and some small flooded areas on some holes.
- Not enough penalty for errant shots - you can make 3 on most holes even if you hit an early tree.
- Some holes would be VERY difficult for a beginner and the number of holes with very small windows can make the course frustrating for the beginning player.

I'd recommend this course to almost anyone - the variety of holes for a non-wooded park is excellent and the course demands a high level of precision to master. And the remote location (tucked back in a residential neighborhood) guarantees that the course is almost never crowded, so you can usually play a quick round almost any time of day.

-A lot of beautiful, old trees
-Nicely maintained (grass is cut, trash cans are usually empty, etc.)
-Rarely are there people here
-A great mix of open and obstacle filled shots
- Very clean
-Very hard to lose your disc
-The course covers the whole park
-This course has the most hills in town
-There's a beautiful par-3 (I believe #13) where you have to throw the frisbee into a cage of trees. Definitely one of my top 5 favorite 'holes' I've played.
-Alternate baskets

-The signs aren't very accurate and some of them are ruined because of water leaks.
-Sometimes the tees aren't pointing to the baskets but that's just because of the alternate basket locations so usually the tees just point in the middle of the two.
-There's a lot of litter in the heavily wooded ob areas of the course.

It's a nice course with a great mix of shots. The old trees have a lot of marks in them from stray drives and it always makes me laugh. I'd say that this and Maxwell are worth an hour drive to come check out.