Woodland Chains is a classic feeling short park course in the Metro East region of St. Louis. It's among the oldest, if not the oldest, course on the Illinois side of the area, and snakes all around Woodland Park. This course has seen a lot of equipment upgrades in recent years, though the course layout itself is unchanged.

Getting to this course is pretty easy, as it's just a short drive from Interstates 55 and 70, and right off of Highway 159. Olivers Road is the drive that goes around the park, and either park entrance will eventually get you to the start of the course. There are multiple parking lots around the park, and several baskets and tees close to the road, but the course bulletin board and practice basket are next to the parking lot you want. Taking the second junction with Olivers Road will put you at the course start.

Disc Golf takes up the most land in the park by far. Other than Disc Golf, the park has 3 or 4 shelters, 4 playgrounds that each serve a shelter, and two baseball fields. There are bathrooms throughout the park, with 1 set being at the course start and another set located by holes 7 and 8 (these close over winter but there was a portable one near the course start this past weekend when I last played). While there aren't trash cans along the course specifically, there's enough trash cans around the park that you shouldn't have to hold on to any trash for too long.

The course has seen a lot of improvements in the last couple of years. The practice basket is located near the course start, and has enough open land around it that you can not only practice putts, but even approach length shots without getting in the way of other folks in the park. The course has recently replaced its older and rusting baskets with new DD Veteran Baskets. The red bands and blue baskets really add some pop to the course. The course signage has been improved as well, with all of the course signs being in great shape, and giving hole layouts, tee locations, and distances. The blue and red tees are now concrete, with only the white tees being crushed limestone now. In addition to these improvements, there is a large, very hard to miss bulletin board that has a large course map on one side, and an announcement-league board on the other. The course map is very handy, and I highly recommend you take a picture of it before starting your round (more on that later).

This course has among the largest number of tees and pin placements in the area, with each hole having 3 different tees, and a basket that can be found in one of 2 pin placements. This allows for multiple unique rounds in one day, and helps the course cater to a wide variety of skill levels. Newer players will find the red tees challenging, while advanced players will find the Blue tees to add considerable distance or new lines to their round. The different tees really make a difference on a lot of the holes. Holes 10 and 18 are a great example, where the blue tees are put across the lake to require a drive over the water. Hole 9 is also an interesting example, where the Blue tee is actually shorter than the white tee, but it's location makes it a more challenging shot.

Woodland Park is by no means the largest park you will find an 18 hole disc golf course in, and the course really makes the most out of the land that isn't used by other park amenities. The course snakes around creeks, the small lake in the middle of the park, a baseball field, and shelters to fit all 18 holes. Even with the amount of obstacles to navigate with the course design, this course manages to top 5,200 feet from the red tees, and an additional 1,600 feet from the blues.

Most of the course plays between 180 and 325 feet, though there are 3 holes that come in between 400 and 500 from the red tees. Despite the relatively short holes, this course has a considerable amount of elevation throughout the park. This results in uphill shots like holes 11 and 12, tricky downhill holes like 5 and 16, and other holes like hole 4 that are level, but with a risk of downhill rolls. Most of the holes are pretty open with only mature trees to navigate, but some holes like hole 7 bring more dense brush or tree coverage into play.

In addition to the obstacles listed above, this course has more water in play than most of the other courses in the area. The lake and creek that the park surrounds comes into play on at least 5 holes, plus others if you have a wild enough throw. These water hazards add a good level of risk/reward that wound otherwise not exist, as a bad tree kick on 9 or 10 can leave your disc in the middle of the lake, which has some very unsavory looking water.

Despite a lot of the holes being pretty open, getting a 2 can be very challenging on a lot of the holes here. This makes the shorter holes feel like must gets, especially 11, 12, and 16. After getting through holes 3 and 4, the distances feel pretty consistent as a whole, with 10 and 18 being longer exception. The variety on this course is enough to keep a round interesting, especially if you do multiple round on different tees or want to use a different tee from the last time you played here.

The additions of new tee pads, signs, and baskets, is really nice to see on this course. With these improvements in place, the biggest con to this course is not without a doubt the flow and navigation. When you look at the maps on this site, it doesn't take long to see some of the wonkiness of the flow. The walks between 1, 2, and 3 on the map look significant, and they are a little bit of a hike on the course. I'm pretty sure 2 was missing a tee sign, which didn't help. Hole 6 is another awkward spot, requiring you to walk all the way back from hole 5 to find the tee pad for 6, and then requiring a walk across the parking lot from 6's pn to the tee pads for 7. Hole 12 requires a walk that I feel could be remedied if you flipped the tee pads and the pin locations around, since the tee pads are out of sign and down a hill from hole 11's pins, and 300 feet away. A map makes it a little easier to navigate, and the extra navigations signs around the course help as well, but some awkward transitions don't have signs and can make finding the next tee hard for first time players. There's also 1 tee sign per hole that serves all 3 tee pads, which makes finding the blue pads a little awkward at times. I think the designers of this course did just about the best they could with this course given all of the obstacles in the park, but these issues still persist. I don't think there is a way to reorder the existing holes to eliminate all awkward transitions either. It's kind of clear that some of the smaller holes are in place to make a full 18 fit as it is.

The tee signs, while nice and in good shape, also lack 2 important pieces of information. The first one is which pin placement is in use. Each hole has 2 placements, but no hole has a way of showing which is in use. While you can see the basket from the red tees on many holes, there are some critical placements that you want to know with other holes before you throw. Hole 5 has placements that are a good 80 feet away from each other, but you have to walk up the fairway to see which is in place. The same is the case for 6. Hole 9 is a blind shot where the basket could be located on either side of a creek next to the lake, Hole 14's placements are far enough a part where the pin placement could mean the different between a hyzer backhand or a hyzer forehand, and if you want to know which basket is in place, you have to walk through a small valley to see. Having a way of know which pin is in place would be very appreciated.

The other piece of information missing from any sign on this course is, oddly enough, the par for the course or any of the holes. DGCR has par at 55. Udisc has it at 61. While I don't imagine par is very high here, it would be nice to know for sure what it is. It's nice to have a course par, or even a rec and pro par, to compare yourself to, instead of leaving yourself to just trying to beat your personal best.

Even when it's been a long time after the last rain, this course has some muddier areas, even away from the water. Hole 7 was the part that stood out to me in this regard, as the placement was up on a steep hill, and you could tell that other folks have slipped trying to get their disc from the basket. Some stairs here would be amazing. That being said, the 2 bridges on the course do a great job of traversing the water while being far enough away from the water to account for wetter periods with elevated water levels.

While I'm not the biggest stickler for safety in terms of how close disc golf gets to other parts of a park, this course feels risky in a lot of areas. There's a few holes that I would say play pretty close to Olivers Street throughout the park, where a bad release could hit he road without any trouble. Other longer holes or blind shots feel a little off too, since this park does get non-disc golfers who may not know the fairways as well as those playing. Holes 3 and 9 have pins close enough where drives and approaches could conflict with an errant throw, for instance. Just make sure you are aware of your surroundings.

The white tees are still crushed limestone and could be prone to water or overgrowth. That being said, they looks to be in better shape than usual. I'm sure making these concrete is on the wish list for those who look after this park.

Overall, this is a fun course. It's not the most well kept park in the world, but it makes for a fun round of golf. It's clear that it gets a lot of traffic from a variety of players, and it's designed to make for a good round of golf for anyone that wants to play here.

Shoutout to everyone who looks after this course. It's far from perfect, but it's clear that it gets a lot of love, with so much money going into improvements in such a short period of time. This course makes the most of a smallish, busy park, and if you're in the Metro East area, it's worth a quick visit. If you're looking for disc golf merch in the Metro East area, Van Man Discs isn't far away in Swansea and a great opportunity to support a local vendor if Smokin' Aces is too far a drive for your liking.

Great use of park space, three tee pads per hole (2 concrete), new DD baskets, practice basket, new tee signs, new course map at kiosk, plenty of replay value, water in play, elevation, good selection of shots needed (not just a RHBH on every hole), park has been making strides to clean out underbrush and old trees.

Red (short) and Blue (long) tee pads are concrete, but several of the white (medium) tee pads are not in great shape and they are either crushed limestone or just grown over.
A few holes are a bit if a walk and not straight forward unless you use a map on the kiosk at hole 1 (e.g. hole 1-> 2, 5->6, 6->7, 11->12), but layout does allow for two 9 hole loops and uses most if the park.
On busy park days it can slow down play to wait for poeple to clear fairways and/or make people aware they are in a disc golf course.
The course can get get it's fair share of trash build up, but it mostly from other bad park people or it blows in from other areas.
The erosion in some areas of hole 3/4 stream.

The course has gone through some good improvements in the last year or so. If you haven't played it recently or were deterred due to previous lower ratings, you should check it out.

Brand New DD Veteran Baskets
Concrete tees for the short and long, natural for intermediate
The course is beginner friendly from the red tees and still provides a good variety of shots to challenge every skill level

Course flow can be a bit confusing for anyone who hasn't been there.
There is a kiosk next to the big bathrooms with a big satellite imagery map. I'd recommend snapping a picture of it for newcomers. You won't get lost without it, it will just help a lot.

With the new improvements, Woodland has blossomed in to one of the areas best courses.

Significant improvement in the last year.

New concrete tees. New baskets. New signs on most holes.

Gumballs, which were EVERYWHERE one year ago, are still there, but nowhere near as bad as they were.

Trash cans and bathrooms are readily available.

A good mix of uphill/downhill shots, with water coming into play on a few holes. All in all, a very nice 18 hole layout.

Par is not indicated on all signs. Why? There are some directional signs, but the course could use a few more.

One year ago (summer 2018) I decided not to play Woodland due to gumballs. They were everywhere. This year, not so much. I've played the course twice in the lat week and enjoyed it both times. Kudos to the group that did all the work. It has really paid off in a much improved course.

Varying shots required. Varying levels of technical difficulty. Some very nice scenery.

Not the best maintained park. Am teepads are gravel, and often rutted/muddy. Signage is not the best.

This course is mere miles from my house. In the 5 months I've been playing, I have played this course easily 70 times (usually only 9 holes at a time). I know it pretty well. For the most part, the baskets have been in the same place through the entire time.

The following description is from the shortest tees.

Hole 1 is a straight shot across a small depression, through light woods, and over a hill. You can't see the goal from the teepad. There are a variety of lines of approach. The goal is on a mild slope, and near a guardian tree. Rollaway is a real possibility.

Hole 2 is level, with a anhyzer for righthanded backhand (RHBH) players or hyzer for lefthand backhand (LHBH). Shrubs on the right and a few sporadic small trees in the fairway, that mostly don't come into play. The goal sits on the edge of a steep drop, so if you overshoot the basket, you can get a 20 foot drop into a wooded area.

Hole 3 is the only par 4 on the course. The teepad is elevated, and you throw down onto the fairway. A stream runs to the right, and large sporadic trees to the left. The initial shot should be an easy hyzer for RHBH players. The same first shot is more difficult LHBH, requiring good touch to keep an anhyzer on the fairway from turning into a roller that ends up in the stream. Once on the fairway, there are a number of trees that generally require you to keep the discs moderately low, below the tree canopy, although a big RHBH hyzer route exists that crosses the stream into 4's fairway. The goal is guarded by a tree, and near the stream, making approach interesting. The area by the basket is subject to flooding in heavy rain. The stream, and much of the bodies of water in the park get covered with duckweed (what looks like bright green algea on the surface). When it floods, this stuff gets deposited on the course in the low area of 3. It smells funky when that happens.

Hole 4 is on the opposite slope leading to the stream separating 3 and 4, and faces in the opposite direction. If the wind is blowing, this makes for an interesting switch from 3. The line on this hole is a long, slow hyzer for RHBH players. The slope is reasonably steep, rollaway into the stream is very possible.Once on the slope, you must then navigate back up the slope, into moderate trees. The goal is tucked into some thicker woods, with guardian tree, and a slope downhill just past the pin. The baskets in the park are old, and in particular, this one is VERY hard to see the first time you play the course. Oh... one other note on 4. The hillside near the goal has a lot of broken glass in one area. Probably not a big problem, but it concerns me every time I see it.

Hole 5 is in light trees, into a mostly open field, down a hill, with goal tucked into a cutout of the shrubbery on the right. Those shrubs are a barrier to the right side all the way from teepad to goal. This is a very natural LHBH shot. A perfectly placed LHBH midrange can park (and in theory ace) the hole. A concrete drainage ditch past the goal presents not so much a challenge as an object that can bang up your discs.

Hole 6 is a pretty wide open field, one of the few places on the course where you might get to rip a 300'+ shot. Fairway is mostly flat, very slightly uphill, then slightly downhill. a very mild hyzer for RHBH players. The goal is near a guardian tree, but not too well guarded. Going overly long (30'+), there's the possibility to skip into the road. And the traffic does not care about your $20 disc. They will run it over.

Hole 7 is straight, favoring a LHBH fade. The drive is slightly downhill through light woods, with a canopy requiring that you keep the shot fairly low. Approach to the goal is a living nightmare, as the goal is on a hillside that's about 45 degrees, and bare, with occasional roots and rocks, about 15' above the fairway. Vines and small trees obscure the goal to a degree. The goal is on a little concrete platform, but if you miss the goal or platform, it is more likely than not that your disc will roll back down 20 feet or more.

Hole 8 has a straight approach with a small gap between some small trees. There's a spike hyzer route RHBH for arms bigger than mine. The goal is on a narrowing peninsula with guardrail and road on the left side, and a slope with potential water hazard on the right. I have had a disc skip off the rim of the basket, and roll the 40 feet to the water, disappear in the duckweed with no trace to be seen. I will miss you, KC Pro Roc.

Hole 9 starts on top of a hill, throwing down to a goal across a 20 or so foot wide water hazard. Moderate trees and a few hanging dead branches add to the difficulty. The goal is across the water, and up a mild hill, probably not more than 15 feet from the water, but with little chance of rollaway. There is a straight shot from teepad to goal.

Hole 10 has water hazard to the left, and the fairway slopes up on the right, with moderate trees. It's a good natural mild hyzer shot for RHBH. An errant treekick can put you in the water. The goal is guarded by a lot of shrubs on the approach angle, so second shots are usually spike hyzers.

Hole 11 is uphill with light trees, but the goal is surrounded by small guardian trees. There are a number of routs through, and the hole doesn't seem to favor left or right handed throwers.

Hole 12 is uphill, and the goal is guarded with a big tree, creating a canopy that restricts some lines. There are also several trees in the fairway blocking some routes. A RHBH hyzer around the right-most tree puts you within easy approach to the pin. A big LHBH hyzer line might be possible, but it crosses a parking area. If there's a vehicle there, it's risky. And if you get the angle wrong, you're going to bounce the disc across concrete. If you get up the hill clean, another RHBH short approach gets you to the goal.

Hole 13 is a long open field, sloping up after about 300', crossing a road, with a few trees in the way. The goal is near the road on the other side. I don't recommend DX discs for this hole. You (okay, I) will inevitably chew them up, skipping over concrete. First shot favors RHBH straight fading left. A good flex shot LHBH works, but isn't as easy.

Hole 14 is an elevated tee, through 200' moderately difficult tunnel shot, into a field that slopes down, narrowing and hooking right. The approach has thorn bushes right, heavy shrubs left, and swampy water mere feet past the goal. This hole strongly favors LHBH approach. From anywhere in the field clear of the initial trees, a moderately overstable mid will glide a lovely arc to the goal. For RHBH... good luck. Those thorn bushes are... not fun. In hot weather, down by the goal is like a mosquito infested swamp. Bring bug spray. (The area around 10's goal can also get swampy, but not as bad)

Hole 15 is an elevated tee, throwing across a depression. As with much of the course, it's lightly wooded, with canopy restricting some high lines. RHBH route then climbs back up to about the same level. LHBH route can go lower. Water hazard to the very far left, mostly not an issue, until you approach the goal, or in the event of bad tree kick. The goal sits on the edge of a hill. Long or left is slope down to water. There are also some shrubs near the goal, impeding approach.

Hole 16 is fairly steeply downhill. A few trees in the fairway, and bushes surrounding the goal. This is the most likely hole to ace or birdy on the course. A dead straight or RHBH straight with slight fade at the end is the best path.

Hole 17 is a fairly open fairway. Slope down and road to the left. Slope down onto 18's fairway to the right. A few trees. The goal is over the edge of a slope, and that slope is mostly bare. If your disc gets up on edge, its is extremely likely to roll into the road 30 feet down the hill. You will scare the geese (depending on the season). There is a VERY slight chance that the disc will hop the curb on the far side of the road and continue to roll a ways further into water. Very unlikely, though. One other thing... those spiky ball seedpod things? Yeah. ALL over that slope. Like a floor covered in marbles. After a rain? Add slick mud. This hole and 7 are what I'd classify as 'dangerous' after a rain. Don't laugh. I'm old and break easy.

Hole 18 is level, bending slowly right, very slightly favoring mild LHBH hyzer. A few big trees in the way. Approach is (as usual) under a moderately high canopy. The hole opens to a small grass green, with the goal probably 15 feet from the parking lot. Shoot long and go OB (and chew up your plastic).

The bathrooms by the start/end of the course are serviceable but 'ugh'. The water tastes nasty. I live in this town, I can say that. I filter my water at home because it tastes gross. There's a spigot near the teepad for 14. On the hottest of summer days, I dared drink from it. The best I can say is I didn't die from it. There's a CVS right down the road from the park to grab cold drinks when you're done, or a row of fast food places on Beltline, just blocks away. There are occasional families wandering the course, utterly oblivious to the fact that you're about to launch your speed 40 DEATHCRUSHER driver. Be aware it's a park... with kids. Hope this review helps. The city seems to do a good job of mowing the park. Dead tree/limb removal is slower, but done. Shrub trimming seems slower still, so some holes (5, 10, 16) can be affected by wild-n-wooly shrubs.

This course offers good elevation on several holes and there is also good shot variety here.
A good mix of short, moderate, and longer holes will keep things interesting.
Also there is a bit of water threat for that extra pucker factor.
Low ceiling shots and many good lines to be shaped on this course.
Signage was adequate and dual tees were offered on many holes.
Multiple pins placements to keep things from getting stale.
Sloping greens to keep you on your toes as well as protected/guarded pins on some holes.
There were a few chances to air out some drivers here as well.

Tees are rutting and hold water after a good soaking rain.
Hole 2's sign was missing upon my visit.
Baskets are showing signs of aging, they still do their job however.
Long walks on multiple holes slow the flow of the round down a bit, 1's basket to 2's tee, 2's tee to 3's basket, 4's basket to 5's tee and 11's basket to 12's tee all come to mind. I know thats the way the park is spread out but it does slow the flow of the round down a bit at times.
Scouting ahead was necessary on some holes to see where the pin was located.
Be careful on hole 8 to stay on the top side of the hole as there is a pond on the right side of the fairway and a roll a way disc could end up wet very easily.
There was a bit of trash on the course upon our visit. Maybe some trash cans would help deter the litterbugs a bit??

This is a solid park style course that offers a nice variety. I like the fact that it offers different pins placements on multiple holes and holes like 9 offered players the chance to throw across the creek. If players aren't quite as skilled there was another pad so that the threat of disc loss wasn't as great.
Overall there are good lines here and the golfing is fun. With the upgrading of the tees and maybe some new baskets this course would get a bump up in ratings IMO. As it is its still a solid course that was seeing some traffic upon my visit. Worth the stop if you are in the area.

Woodland Park is a lovely park with a nice rolling terrain much of which slopes down to this, apparently stagnant, green looking body of water. I'm not sure if it's a very slow moving river, creek or what. The park is just a little bit on the shady, rundown side of things. Not quite scary bad, just not inviting clean and nice and well kept up.

The course has a nice big course map sign at the beginning. There is also one of the better on-line maps here at DGCR if you want to print it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to print one off. It would have saved me a lot of wasted time and steps.

There are three sets of tee pads. Only the Blues (Longer ones) are concrete. The reds and the Whites are natural. The Blue tees have nice metal signs but there is no signage anywhere else. I also ran into some helpful next tee signs/markers throughout the course. The baskets are older models with chains starting to rust. They didn't affect my game but I think we're all spoiled with courses with brand new bright, pretty baskets.

Playing by myself, navigation was tricky and I found myself wandering around quite a bit.

I think my favorite hole was # 14. It's 275' from the Reds with a valley to cross. It was a pretty little throw.

I ended up passing on both # 8 and # 9 with the basket set close to the nasty water. Not knowing the course, I didn't feel like chancing a disc in the soup on either of those holes.

I found this naked Barbie doll on # 7 wrapped seductively in tape. I'm not sure what she had been used for, but I had a really disturbing feeling about it. After depositing her in the nearest trash can, I feel I couldn't wash my hands enough times.

I would be much more of a fan of this course if the water was clean and not so nasty and scummy.

Old baskets with rusty chains.

Long walkouts after # 4 and # 6 were confusing.

Lack of signage on longer tees.

Overall sketchy feel of park.

I think I could grow to embrace this course if I played it a few more times. It really has a number of nice holes. Playing in a group would help, as would just figuring out how to layup to avoid the skanky water.

However, right now, playing the way it is, it's in need of some general upgrading. In the future, it could use, some better signage, concrete tee pads on the Blues, new baskets. That's a lot of $ and time to be committed. I would like to see it happen!

Nice wooded, technical shots. Short runs for the most part. Scores well for the intermediate level player. Good overall design. Not too long to play 18 holes. Water comes into play which makes those holes interesting. Multiple tees and multiple pin placements. Pro pads are concrete

Hard to navigate. Chains are pretty rusted and dead. No concrete pads for short tees. Lots of fairway traffic from others in the park. Trash littered everywhere. Water in the creek and lakes are super nasty and stinky

Overall i like this course a lot. I tend to shoot low scores and there are a lot of good ace run holes that are a lot of fun. The holes with water i think are great. You want to run them but the water makes me nervous sometimes because I'm not going in that water. My buddys dog went in it and stunk the rest of the day. Its pretty bad. I would suggest to take a picture of the course map at the bathrooms by hole 1 the first time you play, and definitely take PLENTY of practice putts to get used to the chains. Iv had more than a handful missed putts hitting dead center chains. There have been arrows placed at pins pointing to the next hole so that helps a lot too. I give it a 3 overall. I think the designer just decided to put a couple holes' baskets behind a tree and said ok its a hole. That and the lack of course maintenance. Hardly any benches and a lot of trash.

Interesting layout - good mixture and differences in elevations, distance, forehand, backhand shots.

Concrete tees

For a first time play it was a little difficult to navigate, signage to next hole could have been better.

Course looked like a course that didn't have a local club looking after it. Could have used someone picking up some trash.

Several baskets had rusted out chains. I'm guessing someone probably stole the original chains and then they were replaced by cheaper ones that were designed to take the weather.

Ok for a play, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make another trip back. Several of the holes had a creative layout that called for a variety of challenging shots.

Well matured course.
Multiple Tee pads/pins keep the play here fresh.
Some nice elevation changes.
Concrete tee pads in pro placement.

Baskets are showing their age.
Pedestrian traffic.
Can get littered up from time to time.

This is the first course I ever played and where I honed my skills as a DG'er and met some great people in the process. I love it despite all of its flaws.

The Pros Include:
-Concrete Pads
-Multiple Pads
-Multiple Basket Locations
-Restrooms
-Pavilions
-Lake/ Stream
-Shots over water
-Great mixture of shots throughout the course
-Awesome Old Trees

-Odd walks to some of the holes
-Sometimes there are some shady crowds loitering around.
-Possibility of hitting moving cars if you go OB on a hole

Pretty good course.. I haven't made it out to the area to play it enough

1. 3 Different sets of Tee pads
2. Can do long run ups on big tee pads
3. Good use of terrain
4. Well designed holes
5. Chance for aces on a couple of downhill shots

1. tough to know where the next hole is at in several spots
2. bad course flow in general
3. chances to lose discs in water

Overall I liked this course but we spent about 20 minutes extra trying to find all the holes. Print out the map from the links/files section! I did not and paid for it!

Nice elevations and good landscaping

Bee hives, bad signage dont have a clue where to go.. Did i mention getting stung by 3 bees hornets wasps along water at hole 3.. Quit at 9...not the greatest neighborhood either

Challenging - Well maintained - 3 tee pads - Multiple pin placements - great mix of shots - Large tee pads - Restrooms & Water fountains

Woodland Park is a great course that has something for players of all skill levels. With 3 different sets of tee pads, you can choose how difficult you want your round to be. The reds and whites are crushed limestone and beginner friendly The (longer) blue tee pads are concrete. When the pins are in their longer positions, the blue tee pads make this course championship caliber. There are also numerous "extreme" positions that will put your pride in check. The course is very scenic as well as it is spread across rolling hills and around the lake. The water holes present an extra challenge of risk vs reward and can easily be the difference between a good round or a bad one.

Flow - Tee signs only on shortest tees - Old baskets - Pedestrian traffic

There are a couple places where holes criss cross each other and it would be hard for a first timer to find their way around. Additionally, there are a couple of the blue tee pads that are "hidden" because they are in a place that make the hole completely different. It would be very difficult for a first timer to play the blues by themselves. Additionally, there are only tee signs on the (shortest) red tee pads so you don't really know your distances from the other pads. The baskets, while DGA Mach II's (I believe) are old and rusty. They don't necessarily hurt you putting/score, but with a few updates, like new baskets and tee signs, this course would easily rank a 4.5 or even 5. Lastly, there are a lot of people that like to sit in the middle of the fairways for a picnic lunch. Most times, if you make them aware, they'll move. But you do occasionally run into jerks that just won't budge.

The "cons" aside, if you know your way around and can judge distance pretty well, this is an awesome course. If you haven't played Woodland Park, you definitely should, but I'd recommend printing a map or coming out on a league day so you can lean on the locals for guidance. In regards to the pedestrian traffic, most people are nice, but you can't fix stupid, so sometimes you just have to play around them.

-Feels like its a mix of different courses all in one.
-Great use of land and space.
-Beautiful trees and wild life.
-Has 3 different tee off spots for different skill levels.
-Easy to get to and right off I-70.
-Takes a certain degree of skill to curve around trees, lakes and ditches.
-The rolling hills and elevation is fantastic.
-A lot of birdie chances.

-Please please please print off a map of the course before going. Impossible to navagate and play without map.
-Some holes play just feet away from the lake making it easy to lose a disc.
-A lot of trash and glass on the course.
-The course is right on top of a lot of roads and playgrounds.
-Baskets are older and the chains are hard. Easy to bounce a disc off the chains and out even if its a perfect throw.
-Seems the course is hardly used and can use some up keep.
-The course isn't very fluid and sometimes have to walk long distances to play the next hole.

Overall this was a fun course and I will play it again. It felt a lot like JB except smaller and with water hazards. I would advise not playing later in the day or the weekend just because the playgrounds may be packed with kids and people making some of the holes difficult to play. Print a map out of the course before playing or you will be unable to find your way around.

This park is beautiful adding a challenge with water, hills, trees, and awesome scenery, IE ducks, geese, birds.
This park is very easy to find and easily accessible.

Suspending my cons portion of my review until played again after notice of changes for the better.

Course is less than 3 miles from I-70. Large park with other amenities. 3 sets of tee pads for all levels of play. Plenty of trees, 2 ponds and elevation change to present a challenge for multiple shots. Interesting pin placements where accurate putting is a must. The B placements have been in place for over a year now and definitely change the course vs the originals. Course is technical and long from the concrete (blue) pads...a tough par 55.

Some navigational issues such as long walk between hole 5 and 6. Shared fairway with creek in the middle on hole 3 and 4. During nice weather days there may some interference with other park goers. Baskets are older however they still catch fine.

The first time I played this course I was not that impressed, however after playing it a few more times, it has become a favorite due to the challenge and fun factor of different shot making needed to score well. Just participated in the 10th annual Headache Bowl on New Years day with 102 total participants and the Chaingang always do a good job running this event. Although, I am still waiting on my tag. For easier play and navigation I recommend printing a map and or find a guide.

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> Excellent and creative use of terrain, water hazards, trees and shot shaping opportunities.

> Three tees for every hole that mostly (especially the blue/pro tees) make a big difference in the way the hole plays.

> Multiple Pin placements are obviously available on the course, but not listed on the map or signs.

> Scenic park complete with ducks, geese and swans for added entertainment value.

> Good mix of short and long holes that don't feel like anything is missing or a shortcut.

> Tee signs did a good job of showing the multiple tees.

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> The course layout is beyond confusing. Even with 2 really good maps, you spend a good deal of time wandering (and wondering) to look for the next tee.

> Some areas of the course really need some maintenance and rebuilding. A few spots were actually dangerous due to poor construction or rotting wood and sinking cement blocks.

>The baskets have seen better days and could use a refurb. They also need a coat of bright paint so they can be seen from further than 60 ft. away.

> Trash, trash and more trash. Not much in the way of garbage cans, but mostly the park is just littered up from one end to the other leaving the impression that a dump must be just right around the corner... yuck.

> No respect for the course from other park patrons. We had to have several confrontations with folks who were picnicing, taking pictures, playing catch and just lollygagging about on the fairways and would not move, even when asked very nicely twice.

>Many holes and basket placements are simply too close to parking lots, streets, playgrounds and pavilions to be safe and make me wonder who thought that was a good idea. Some tees even require you to throw over a parking lot, roadway or walking path... stupid idea.

> Tee signs were really cheap and did not do a good job showing actual pin placement.

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Don't take the heavy ratio of Cons to Pros as a reason to skip this course: The Woodland Chains DG Course wins BIG on actual playability and I will plan on coming here more often. Considering how far I had to drive, take that as a good sign.

I look forward to building the confidence to play some of the blue tees that required huge throws over the water or through really tight wooded corridors to break into the fairway. The topography is some of the most dramatic I've ever played and gave me plenty of cause to stop and second guess my normal shots to account for a fade that might backfire and go an extra 70 ft. because of a steep slope or a tree that could send me sailing into a water hazard. I truly had a great time with this course.

The things that were annoying about this park (as mentioned in the Cons) were not caused by the actual "playing" of disc golf on the course, but just the frustration of it all between shots:
You had better plan on taking a good map (or two) and allow plenty of time on your first visit for searching for tees and baskets. If your game goes like ours, you will also probably have to give up a shot or two to avoid the dangerous possibility of hitting a bystander who won't move off the course because, "disc golf is no different than playing catch, just throw your frisbee's somewhere else... this is a public park." Fair enough, but I was shocked by the total lack of willingness for folks to just step 30ft. out of the way for a few seconds... jeesh.

The parks deparment and the city of Collinsville really, really need to address the littering issue here. I don't know how it gets to the point that a park that should be a real gem of the community ends up looking like a landfill? This park deserves better.

--A variety of tees makes this a course worth replaying again and again.
--Great use of trees, water and elevation to challenge you.

--Baskets are older and rusty.
--Most signs are missing making locating the next tee pad difficult sometimes.
--Referred to in previous reviews, but a major litter problem. Today I saw a used diaper, broken glass, etc.

A good course with some very challenging shots. Not altogether set up in a logical way, but fun nonetheless...if you can find all the tee pads/baskets. Bring a rag. Your discs are likely to get muddy or wet.

bring your A game to this course, with almost every hole having a water hazard or ob that comes into play. a good mixture of short to long holes along with 3 sets of tees gives you a large assortment of shots to throw.

the shorter tees are made of crushed gravel, this is no con for the reason of good drainage, IF... the pads were level and didnt dish out and retain water or almost break your foot when throwing(loose 1/2 disc rating). no trash cans around course .

due to land configuration of the city park, and it being a multi use park, you will walk a little bit between a few holes.. a overall fun course for all.