I played Abendscheim on a comfortable Saturday evening in Mid-May and there were more players here tonight than I saw total on the nine previous courses I played on this vacation trip with the wife. I understand the attraction here. While not a true beginners course, even with six holes playing under 200 feet, it offers a nice variety of disc golf with few chances to get into trouble, chances for birdies and Aces and just enough normal disc golf holes to keep everyone's attention.

Abendscheim Park is a large, mostly flat, park with lakes, ballfields, nice walking path and lots of space. The disc golf course seems to be mostly exclusive to the golfers. There is a kiosk at the start with some information. There's also a practice basket by # 1. The tee pads are nice sized concrete 10-12 feet long. The signs are wood with the info routered in and painted. They give just the basic, hole #, distance and par. The baskets are Mach and they are looking old and worn. Are the Wisconsin winters that hard on the baskets?

I really enjoyed the variety here with six short Ace runs, three holes over 475 feet and then other nine holes falling somewhere in between. The course is well designed with each hole seeming to have some element that I found interesting. Navigation is a breeze as a traveling player can easily follow the course without a map. In many places there is a paved or otherwise, obvious path leading to the next tee.

An good example is # 10. It's just 242 feet long but a ring of 12 implanted poles surrounds the basket. Instead of a throwaway hole, you now have a most interesting Ace run.

# 15 is just 184' but the tree branches are so low as to probably block most all Ace attempts. Plenty of birdies here but not many Aces.

# 12 at 540 feet is the longest hole on the course. It's open except about 300 feet out is a slightly raised area with some smallish plants and trees . # 13 is 480 but has rough on the right fairway and a small line of trees guarding the basket.

Obviously with the play this course gets comes problems. Some of the baskets have a steel mesh under them to prevent erosion and compacted soil.

The course has a number of wet and boggy places. I don't think I would care to play here during and after rain or snow melts. Wood chips have been brought in some places but more would help.

The baskets are plain and kinda sad looking. They don't show well.

At least three of the wooden signs have broken sides either from vandalism or maybe the weather.

Recreational distances and challenges will mostly eliminate the more skilled players.

Course is mostly flat so no epic downhills.

This is just another example of a well designed and well cared for rec course that gets a ton of use. A large percentage of us disc golfers just aren't that good. We're inexperienced, don't play often enough, can't throw that far or straight or accurate, too old, too weak or whatever. But that's Okay because whether we admit it or not, a simple, easy recreational course like this sees a lot of play. Although beginners will enjoy it here, a lot of us who certainly can't use the beginner card will enjoy the hell outta this course. And maybe even collect an Ace in the process.

Abendschein Park is a city park 18 holer that mixes and matches some very short holes with some very long holes for an overall enjoyable, but not transcendently great disc golf experience.

1) Tees / Baskets - Single tees & single baskets. Concrete tees on every hole in solid condition, gripped well, and while not the biggest you'll ever see, were plenty big for the course you're playing. Mach 5's that, despite my terrible putting round, caught objectively well enough. My 5 circle 1 misses were all user error.

2) Extras - practice basket by hole 1, very good garbage can coverage, and benches by most, if not all holes. Tee signage was OK - hole number and distance, but no "description" of the line you need to shoot.

3) Navigation was excellent - there were a lot of gravel paths that went from the basket you were shooting at to the next tee, which made navigation a breeze.

4) Maintenance: The gravel paths were part of what I thought was comprehensively excellent course maintenance - fairways were well defined and mowed, rough was trimmed, and there were several holes with features by the basket to make it seem like you were shooting at a real "green" - a circle of vertical standing posts by hole 10, cleared out woods on holes 1 & 11, boulders by 18's basket, and even a few intentional "rough" areas left on some longer holes to add some spice. Erosion control pads placed around all the baskets is something I see in the mountain biking world, will pay dividends over time, and is something I'm surprised not to see more commonly in disc golf. Risk of disc loss isn't zero, but it's overall pretty low.

5) Beginner Friendly - the longest 3 holes are signed as par 4s (and they're legit par 4s to this intermediate am player), and the rest of the course plays fairly easy, and will be a good place to take a beginner where he or she will enjoy themselves. A handful of 300+ par 3s, but a lot of shorter putter run type holes in the 150-225' range.

6) Variety - surprisingly comprehensive variety in hole length & type once you add it all up. Woods-lined holes were mostly shorter, and open holes were mostly longer, but you had everything from 150' or so up to the 540' hole 12, with just about every "length" tier being hit. Handful of open runs where you need to place it in a protected green, which is a fun hole (IMO). Biggest thing missing is a true woods hole where an errant tree kick is going to punish you heavily (see point 3 in the cons)

7) If you are into ace runs, you'll LOVE Abendschein. Of 18 holes, I felt like 13 or 14 of them were holes I could potentially ace with a perfectly executed shot. My first lifetime ace actually came here! Old hole that doesn't exist anymore due to a recent course redesign, but still!

Abendschein does have its shortcomings, mostly centered around its relative lack of true challenge.

1) Crowds - maybe it was because I played here on "National Disc Golf Day", but goodness, was this course crowded. I played solo, and wound up playing through 8 or 9 groups through 18 holes, including a severe multi-group backup at hole 1, which was still present when I finished my round. Judging that this course is clearly oriented more towards beginners than advanced players, I would imagine this is a constant issue.

2) There were just a few too many excessively short holes for my taste. None of the first 4 exceed 225', and a pair of holes later on by the baseball diamond were very short too. I left feeling a bit more of the course was "mini golf-y" than I'd like. Overall challenge level is pretty low, and will probably only keep higher level players interested in the 3 or 4 longest holes & ace runs.

3) Riffing on the above a bit more - the course design seemed like it hit a wall around the baseball diamond with two wide open short holes designed to keep players from firing bombs onto the diamond. I get it, but goodness, these holes felt like throwaways. Also, you had a section of thick woods, that seemed like part of the park (judging by the walking trail on premises) that went nearly completely unused! Get rid of 14/15, cut a couple of fairways through the woods after 9, do your best to find some naturally occurring paths so you don't clear cut super egregiously, give these holes some teeth, and this course goes up by 0.5 discs almost immediately. Seemed like a missed opportunity.

4) Tee signage did not show hole line, and there were a handful of holes where baskets were 100% blind. Be prepared to scope out a few basket locations (and/or players finishing your hole, given the crowds).

5) Elevation: Not a ton. A bit of gradual incline/decline early, and a bit of a sharp drop right of 17, but there's not much going on here elevation-wise.

Overall, Abendschein is a nice little course that will encourage many aspiring disc golfers to fall in love with the sport. It's not a tough course by any stretch, but it's clearly quite popular in the area. It reminds me of Valley View, another local short, popular, fairly easy course, except it does add in a handful of much longer holes for some spice. I waffled between 2.5 and 3 discs, but I rounded it up due to the amorphous "fun factor" that the course exudes (that, plus I tend to be generous in rating courses).

I wouldn't call Abendschein any kind of destination course, but if you're around the area, you could do much worse than a spin through here. If you're a local, and want to play with a new player, or are a beginner yourself, this course ought to be at the top of your list.

My son and I play this park once every week or two, and often bring out new players. For that purpose, this is a good park to play. There's a nice large parking lot, maintained restrooms, and trash cans throughout the course that are emptied regularly. Being a city park, it's well maintained and they deserve huge props for that!

On to the course itself. Holes 1-7 are all birdie holes, if you're throwing smart. 8-13 provide a bit more distance or line-shaping and keep most players at par or above, if you don't have the ability to throw 400' or more. 14-18 bring the distance back down to birdie or par territory again, with 15 and 16 having some well-placed trees to make you choose a line.

If you're looking for that "elusive ace" this is a great park to play for that. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, and 17 are all good opportunities to make a run at it. I got my first ace on #2 here and so the park holds some good memories for me.

OK, on to details, for those that want to get detailed on a municipal DG course.

1 - Straight shot tot he basket. Risk / Reward here is that a good drive puts you in / right under the basket. An over-shot puts you in trees or at the next hole.
2- This is the one everyone loves to run for an ace. Go for it! Throw a slight rhbh hyzer and try to smash it in.
3- Another short one, but a few more trees and bushes shaping your shot. This one is rhbh friendly and easily laid up for 2.
4 - This one turns right with a patch of tree between you and the basket. Throw a rhfh flick or a rhbh anhyzer and you'll lay up. Also, very ace-able.
5 - Just about 300' and mostly straight out. Throw your straigh fairway driver or break out the hyzer shot here. Plenty of room on the right to air something out.
6 - Straight out and slightly downhill. The basket is tucked right in front of trees, so if you overshoot, you're possibly in a tough spot.
7 - Basket is straight out, but there are trees between it and the teepad area. Going around the trees to the right seems to be the most effective path. I've seen people go over and drop near the basket, but if you go short or long, you're getting out of trouble.
8 - The first longer hole, just under 500'. A great line-shaping hole, where if you nail your line you set up a long birdie shot or a safe layup shot.
9 - After you finish 8, the teepad for 9 is just off the end of the trees to the right. Some people miss it and go to 14. The basket here is hidden in the woods. A rhfh or anhyzer shot here will get you in good position to birdie or lay up.
10 - Straight out and downhill. Throw whatever you want, you've got a lot of space to work here! Just be carefull of the teepad on 11, off to the right of the basket as you look at it from the teepad.
11 - Back uphill and in the woods again. Drive to the opening and you're in good position. Again, lots of room here to choose your shot.
12 - One of the two bomber holes and slightly downhill. This is one you get to air it out on and if you mess up your line, there's really not much punishment.
13 - Another bomber shot, but you are rewarded by hitting a good line between the trees and the tall grass. Basket is located beyond the trees, so play your approach well.
14 - Another one you run for an ace every time! Straight out, just don't throw right or high and you've got a shot. River to the right and some large tree limbs prevent a high drop-in sort of approach.
15 - Kind of a tunnel shot. You can approach straight on, though, and most likely have a birdie shot. There's enough open space to go around the tree on either side, though, if you choose.
16 - Basket is straight out again, but hidden behind some more bushes and trees. Go to the right of those and you'll have the easiest approach.
17 - Straight out and another one you'll want to run for an ace. Just be careful, because if you overshoot, your disc is heading downhill toward the baseball fence.
18 - Straight back tot he parking lot. A Good drive puts you right up at the basket.

The honeycomb material for the teepads and under some of the baskets is the worst I've ever encountered. It's hard-plastic, slippery when wet, and most of it is no longer flat enough to be safe. We're mostly teeing off from the side and have started begging the parks department for concrete pads. This same material is under a bunch of the baskets and turns many gorgeous approach shots into skip-offs that end up 20' or more away.

UPDATE: Nov 1, 2014:
Concrete teepads are in! They are long and wide enough to get a good approach for your line, too. Good job, city of Oak Creek! I added 1/2 star and will add another half when those honeycomb grids are pulled from around the baskets.

If you want to practice putting with wind, this is often the place to do it. Some people call it a con, but really it's an opportunity to get to know how your putter reacts in the wind.

Also, there are leagues here on most Thursdays. If you want to play leagues, show up! If you don't...it gets busy that night and you may want to avoid the crowd.

The redesign of this course is a major upgrade over the old layout. There are still a number of holes that are the same as before, but about two thirds are different. The baskets are the same Mach 5's that are in decent shape and catch fine. The signs are nice looking brown painted wooden signs with the hole number and distance. These serve their purpose just fine as the flow of the course is pretty easy to follow. There's a solid mix of open and wooded holes mixed together here. This keeps it interesting. The new holes on the south end add a lot more distance making it a lot more challenging than before. There's ample parking, restrooms and a bubbler. The key here is to get birdies early before the longer holes to score well. the last 4 holes are shorter then as well. The creek still can come into play on 14 I believe it is. Many ace oppurtunities here, I glanced off the chains on hole 2 the first round. Also just under threw 14 the first round. Everything was well mowed and taken care off.

The tee pads are the biggest con here. As has been mentioned before these are slick and dangerous. Especially if they're wet I was told. They're not even good when they're dry. they have this same material under a few baskets as well for some reason. I've played over 130 courses and have never seen this material on any other course. And for good reason. The course can get very busy so there may be some longer waits to tee off.

As has been said many times the new set up is WAY better than the old layout. It's still not the greatest course in the world but it's definitely a fun course. Just be careful on the tee pads, seriously.

- A very good mix of long and short holes

- There are now holes that are over 500' and make it very very difficult to score that perfect round where in the past it was very doable.

- They really used the new land well, and made a couple holes longer and more challenging.

- The flow from hole to hole is very easy

- Very limited ammount of blind shots so you always know what you are shooting at.

- Uses the land very well for what it is

- Easy Parking

- TEEPADS. So to elaborate a little bit, they uses plastic grateing for the teepads and they are the worst thing I have ever thrown off. My one disc golf injury comes from the teepads. When they re wet it is like you are throwing off from ice.

- They also used the same plastic grateing under the basket so that when your disc hit it it just skips away big time. This makes you not try to park the hole but land it 10 ft away so that it doesnt skip.

This is the course I grew up on so I really enjoy the might of shots you have to throw here. It is not a course you should go out of your way to play but if you are looking for a nice casual round then this course is perfect.

-A fair variety of holes, ranging from very short to fairly long
-Generally not very crowded
-Decent ace potential on a few holes
-User-friendly layout

-Not a very technical course
-Teepads aren't very good
-Poor signage

Eliminating the original first 5 holes was a good move. They were just wide open in a field (that's now a pond). Now the replacement holes are in the back of the course and are quite a bit longer (two of them are 500+ ft) with a few baskets tucked into the woods to add some difficulty. They're nothing special, but are a big improvement over the previous layout.

Also, while the teepads aren't the greatest, they're a big improvement over the rutted-up wood chips they used to have.

The best part of the course is a decent variety. The course starts with some short (150-180 ft) technical shots through wooded areas. It opens up for a couple medium holes (250-300 ft) and then you go back into the woods for more shorter holes. The course gets longer on holes 8 - 13 (350-500 ft) and then the course finishes with a few shorter holes through moderately wooded areas around the baseball field.

Some of the holes are a bit too short.

One of the longer holes, 9 I believe, has a pin in the woods with no real entry point. You kind of just have to throw it and pray you don't hit a tree. I would like to see a bit better clearing there.

The worst part of the course is it has poor drainage. We have had a fair amount of rain but the course could be designed to not have small ponds surrounding the baskets.

I also don't like the tees very much. They are a hexagonal metal mesh instead of concrete or dirt. They aren't too bad but I nearly ate it on hole 8's tee because I slipped and a friend of mine did slip and fall.

Overall it is a good course. Wear your grubby shoes and go hit some chains. There is plenty of fun to be had here.