Silver Lake Park (Also known as the Rilki Family Disc Golf Course according to signage) is an intermediate to advanced level 18-hole course that navigates around fields, woods, and the lake for a picturesque setting. This course is full or risk/reward opportunities that will challenge a wide range of skill levels and will require a large set of skills to make par on your round.
Location of Silver Lake is just north of Highland, with easy access to two different exits from I-70. The park is secluded enough to make for a quaint setting for your round, while still being conveniently close to gas and food options both near 70 as well as the park itself. Once entering the park, stay to the right at the fork to go towards the course. As you go up the hill and see the large parking lot along the right side, you'll see a smaller lot to the left with large Christmas trees - that's where you'll want to park, as the course map and hole 1 are behind them. This course isn't super close to other options, with Troy, Collinsville, and Greenville being the closes options down the highway, but it's close enough to the highway to be a nice pitstop round if you're going along 70.
Park Amenities are robust across Silver Lake's 90 acres. Along with disc golf, you can find five pavilions, multiple restrooms, a playground, archery, sand volleyball, a climbing wall, and an arboretum. There's also a boat ramp, and plenty of fishing spots. Hikers can also find over four miles of trails. I didn't come across people fishing during my early round, but it looks like a couple of the holes could pass nice spots, so just keep an eye out during your round.
Course Equipment that's present was in great shape. While many tee pads are natural, there were some nice concrete ones on site as well that were great to throw from and in great shape. The course map by the parking lot provides a nice overhead layout and course par. The tee signs themselves provide a nice hole layout graphic, par, and distances. The baskets are Gateway Titans that are in great shape and catch well.
Course Design at Silver Lake provides a nice mix of long, shot, open, and wooded holes, requiring a wide range of shots for players to score well. The front 9 are a little easier track, with some water hazards to be mindful one holes 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8 that can be mitigated with safer shots. The back 9 incorporates longer holes and additional shot shaping, making for a more intermediate to advanced track.
Shot-Shaping is requires on many of the holes across this course. Holes 1 and 10 start off your beginning and second half of your round with downhill RHBH hyzer shots towards the lake. Other holes such as 11, 12, and 15 also have fairways that will favor left turning shots. Holes 2, 6, 7, 8, 13, and 15 all have tee shots or approaches that will favor right turning shot options, making this a course that caters equally if not even more so to RHFH or lefty backhand players. The remaining holes play pretty straight, though trees, branches, and fairway shape will still require some precision on your part to have a shot at birdies.
Distances vary greatly across this course, with hole 4 being the shortest at 205ft and 17 topping out at 637ft. The front 9, except for holes 1 and 2, all come in below 300ft, with a good percentage of the length on this course being in the back 9. Overall, I found myself throwing everything from an Envy to a max distance driver from the tee throughout my round.
Elevation isn't crazy at Silver Lake, but there's enough to add some spice on certain holes. Holes 1 and 10 go downhill towards the lake, while 11 and 18 play along or near hillsides that can make an errant throw into a +1 or +2 situation for your score. 12's valley between the tee and pin also makes for a tough shot under the tree branches in the fairway. Other holes like 2 and 6 have gentler changes that may have you guessing which disc speed is actually the best option for you.
Difficulty of this course is intermediate to advanced overall, but the front and back 9 differ in skill level. The front 9 is more forgiving to newer players, with water hazards being the only real issue. Each hole with water can be navigated with safer shots and approaches. The back 9 requires hitting more gaps and shot angles, and also has more rough and other obstacles in play. Overall, as an intermediate player, the front 9 was a good tune up for the back 9.
Signature Holes - a couple holes stood out at Silver Lake. 11 is a short but tough par 5 full of trees and brush, making it a hole that requires multiple shorter shots to get to the pin. Hole 15 has a fun design that requires a RHBH hyzer line off the tee into an open spot, and then a second shot that curves left around thick brush and trees to an open pin, requiring two touchy shots for a birdie chance. And I'm always a fan of skinny tunnel shots between rows of trees like you will see on 14.