Piasa Harbor DGC is on it's last legs. I wasn't sure if the course was even going to be there. It's not even listed on Udisc unless you search for it. It say it was permanently closed in 2019. We have a review on here from 2021 though with no course condition updates though. I figured I'd scope it out on our way to La Vista and sure even it's still alive, barely.

The baskets are made out of pieces of plastic 55 gallon drums and a single set of chains. Better than nothing I guess. They are highly visible at least.

There's tee signs on almost half of the holes but the posts are still there for all of them. The signs that are present are ok. Very basic hole map, hole #, par and distance.

The views of the river are pretty nice and the course does flow nicely from hole to hole.

Probably never going to be busy lol.

The baskets are starting to fall apart. They weren't great in the first place but they are in pretty rough shape now. Hole 3's basket is tipped over on it's side, hole 5's is in shambles laying in a pile on the ground and hole 7's has none of the chains attached to the pole anymore. The rest are kinda tipsy but still ok.

I'd guess there's only 3 or 4 tee signs left. Not that these were really that helpful anyway.

They had a chain blocking the road out to the peninnsula with a sign that said foot traffic only. So it's a decent walk just to get out there and back.

The course looks like it'll be underwater if the river is up. I was up in Lacrosse about a month before this and the river flooded most of the parks next to it. I'm sure this place was underwater as well judging by the grass out there.

They must've plowed up alongside next to hole 1 at some point recently. Luckily, and surprisingly they didn't bury hole 1's basket. As is, the dirt mound is right up against the basket almost.

If for some reason this course is one you'd like to play I'd recommend you do it soon. I don't think it's going to be here much longer. In fact, I'm shocked that it still is.

This is truely one of the worst courses I've had the pleasure to play. I'd recommend not wasting your time here with numerous better options only a short distance away. But if you're one of those people that can't look away from a trainwreck, this is the disc golf equivalent of that. Play at your own risk.

Piasa Harbor is a home-made 9 hole along the Mississippi River. Hidden on a peninsula on the other side of a marina, this course can provide a somewhat secluded quick round of golf.

Piasa Harbor is located between Godfrey and Grafton. While there aren't any businesses close to the course, you can find gas stations or restaurants in neighboring towns you will likely pass to get here, most notably Alton for folks coming from the South or Missouri. The harbor is one of the few things between the river and Highway 100, and the road to this course provides some nice riverside views of the Mississippi. The Alton and Godfrey region has 6 courses now, so it's easy to combine this course with others for a full or even half day of golf. La Vista is especially close, being less than 3 miles down the road.

Course equipment is pretty basic at Piasa, but is enough to play a round of golf. While some are damaged or missing, there are tee signs here that include hole numbers, distances, and pars. There's a rough sketch of each hole on the signs, but with how open the course is, you really don't need any more information. The baskets are home-made, constructed from plastic barrels, with a ring of 6 chains on each basket. As a fan of Breaking Bad, I'll say there are certainly worse ways to use these kinds of barrels. As for nearby amenities, there isn't much, though there is a swing set next to the course. It has 6 swings, which is probably at least 5 more than the area needs.

The course design at Piasa is pretty straightforward, but makes the most out of the peninsula it's on, fitting 9 holes perfectly on the piece of land. Over half the holes are under 300 feet long, with only one hole topping 400, making this a relatively short course and accessible for newer players. The course has some trees around it, but it mostly plays open with minimal obstacles. The tree line on hole 4 provides challenges if you end up too far left, and a couple of other holes do play along or near the water, providing some risk/reward to keep in mind as you gauge how much distance you want to get with your shots.

I appreciate the ingenuity of whoever built these baskets. That being said, they are showing their age, and probably weren't much better when they were new. With only 6 chains per basket, putts are much more likely to spit out on this course. Some of the chains are looped around the center pole like on your typical disc golf basket, but some loops are missing which leaves the 6 chains dangling around the outside of some baskets. You'll want to loft your putts more here, which may not be ideal if you're not much of a lofty putter. In addition, many of the baskets are starting to warp and a few have cracks either on the top or in the basket itself. Given how the surroundings look, I'm not going to assume that the original builder is coming to fix them.

The course location o Piasa Harbor is far from ideal. It's right off the highway which is nice, but there's nothing else really going on around the property. There's a marina that has just enough newer looking boats to not look abandoned, but that's about it. There's a building near the parking lot, but it doesn't look like the store that some other reviews mention. If you look online, google says the Fast Stop is closed. To get to the course, you'll want to park near the marina, and then walk to the right around the marina. The walk to the course probably isn't actually that bad, but it feels longer than it is. Other than the marina, there's nothing around here, so plan ahead with drinks and snacks.

Newer players may get enjoyment from this course, but the design is pretty easy for most intermediate players. All of the shots are straight with minimal obstacles in your way, and there aren't really any highlights to be had across the 9 holes. The view of the river is a nice setting, but this isn't enough to outweigh the generic course design and the negatives with the course equipment.

This course is right next to the Mississippi, so I wonder if the course floods during the Spring and Summer. At the very least, water probably gets very close to some of the fairways after rainier periods.

It seems like this area was more vibrant at one point, but the area is clearly past its prime. With nothing else really going on with the property and the state of the course, this course doesn't have much appeal outside of bagging the course with a quick round. Now that I've played a round here, I really don't see myself coming back to this course other than to see if it's still there in the future. It's close to Rock Spring and La Vista, but the only think I thought after my round here at 9 in the morning was that I could have started playing La Vista 30 minutes earlier if I didn't come here first.

If you're someone who likes to hit every course you can, by all means come play Piasa Harbor; once you enter the parking lot you will be able to see the white baskets across the marina. If you're looking for a good course to play, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to play this course. Maybe this course will get some love down the road, but I'm not really counting on it.