West City Parks disc golf course, also known as Larry G. Crites Memorial, is a long 22-hole course that combines long open shots with narrower fairways through varying degrees of woods. This course will really test your driving distance to make par on many holes, and is not set up to be a fun time for new players.
Location of West City Park is a few minutes from I-55, making it an easy stop while on the road. The course is located on the drive that's all the way on the north end of the park; some reviews made it sound like this little parking lot and drive weren't accessible to cars in the past, but it seems to be now. There are plenty of gas stations and food options as well in case you need to stock up before what will be a decently long round at West City. Course baggers will enjoy the proximity to Jokerst Memorial Park, which is a great stop if you want a round of golf that's shorter, or, you know, more fun than West City. For a day of disc golf, Hillsboro and Grace Way are 9-holes nearby, as well as St. Louis as a whole. Going south, courses are present but more spread out south of Woodsy Bogler.
Park Amenities are plentiful across this expansive park. There are multiple playgrounds and bathrooms, including a port-o-john by the start of the course. There are also plenty of pavilions and ball fields, including a nice baseball/softball complex across the street. My friend and I noticed some mountain bikers along the tail end of the course by hole 23, but other than that, there doesn't seem to be too much overlap between disc golf and other park uses with few exceptions.
Course Equipment is a mixed bag on this course. The baskets are Gateway Titans, and while some were tilted, they're overall in good shape still. THere are concrete tees for the most part, and were nice to throw off of. There's varying signage on the course; some nicer laminated signs for the "big guns layout" include a detailed picture of the hole layout, distances, and pars, while other older signs had pars, distances, and a basic to non-existent layout of the hole. Some holes also just got a hole number. At least one basket had a directional sign on the bottom of the basket to the next tee, something that could be useful elsewhere on the course as well.
Course Design at West City has some variety to it, though the vast long fairways will be what you remember after your round. With three par 5s and several other par 4s, this course will give your arm a workout.
Shot-Shaping isn't something explicitly required on most of the fairways, but will come in handy at times. The wooded holes such as 14, 16, and 17 will require particular angles to get down the fairway, and hole 12 is an uphill shot that will reward you if you can manage a right ending shot at that high angle. Hole 3 is a RHBH hyzer that is well guarded. Hole 21 is the opposite with a right turning shot. Some other holes like 7 and 15 don't necessarily require a particular shape but rather simple accuracy to miss trees around the fairway. Most holes, however, are pretty open and will simply reward distance.
Distances are, well, distant as a whole on this course. 9 holes top 400 feet, with your par 5s coming in at 859, 718, and 679 feet respectively, the later two involving a hill on the green. The wooded holes are mostly shorter, with 12 being the shortest at a mere 97 feet (plus elevation), but as a whole, the 9,009 feet this course is listed at feels like an understatement.
Elevation is not robust in this park, but the hill between the upper and lower portions of the park and disc golf course really makes a difference for the six holes that play along or across it. Holes 3, 4, and 20 play down, especially 4 and 20 (ayy), making for some of the more fun tee shots you'll find here. The other three holes finish uphill, adding some pepper to your approaches. Hole 2 slightly plays downhill to start, and Some of the wooded holes have some slight elevation. Other than that, it's a flat course, with that singular hill across the middle of the park pulling its weight.
Difficulty Level at West City is decently high, making it a not-so-great option for newer players. The long fairways throughout the course combined with the tight wooded shots mean that anyone who can't both throw long drives and accurate wooded shots is going to have a hard time on some or all of this course. Jokerst is much more forgiving and a great place to learn the fundamentals before graduating to this course.
Course Highlights for me would be holes 1 and 4. Hole 1 was a fun start to the round, being nice and open, with some challenge coming in throwing around the pond. Hole 4 was definitely my favorite tee shot, with the downhill drive off the tee down a narrow gap in the trees into a more open field.