- Decent distances on some holes. Advanced level players won't be super thrilled but beginners/intermediate will definitely be challenged on most holes. That's not to say higher level players won't have a good time running aces and birdies as this course has it's few holes that require some shot shaping to hit lines.

- Big, grippy teepads that have somehow survived many harsh Chicagoland winters.

- Signage is decent and gives pretty basic information.

- Course layout is pretty easy to follow if you have been there multiple times or have a map.

- Decent parking for times when the course gets busy (league nights) or when the park itself gets busy.

- Chances of losing a disc is pretty low here unless you absolutely shank one to the right on hole 1. The creek on the left on hole 4 is literally like 6 inches deep and kind of funky smelling but at least you will be able to easily fish your disc out. It is possible to lose a disc on hole 9 if you over throw it into the river behind the basket if you didn't know it was there.

- Good for a quick warm up round on the way to Fairfield as it usually only takes about 45 minutes to play a round when the course is not busy which is not that often.

- Decent variety of shots and a few holes do have some slight elevation changes which is always nice for Illinois which is historically pretty darn flat.

- Lack of open bomber holes for the big armed crowd although, hole 7 does kind of give some chance to throw big towards a basket being guarded a gang of trees.

- Course can get extremely muddy after rain in the wooded holes and in a few of the non-wooded holes as well.

- As many have mentioned, there's a pretty grueling uphill walk back to the parking lot after the final hole which sometimes isn't the greatest thing when it's mid-summer and 95+ degrees out.

- I don't know if this is necessarily a con but the pars on like 90% of the holes are a little too forgiving given the lack of distance. I usually just play the course as all par 3 so two bad throws don't still net me a birdie.

- A few of the baskets could use a replacement or just TLC as they don't catch as well as some of the others do (looking at you hole 4) but to be fair, the course has been around for a long time so that being said, they are still holding up decently.

- The layout has a few hiccups and can be confusing to find the next tee (from hole 3 to hole 4 and from hole 7 to hole 8) but this can easily be remedied with a few signs letting players know which direction to head.

Adler Park DGC has been around for a long time, In fact, it's one of the few Chicagoland area courses that is still around today. Although no longer an 18er, it's still a good place to throw some plastic if you happen to be up in the area and like to bag courses that have history.

Perhaps someday it will get restored to its former 18 hole glory as DG starts growing in popularity.

- large concrete tee pads
- DISCatcher baskets in decent shape
- wooded course with good technical challenge
- good moderate distance will provide some challenge for intermediate players
- wood chips in some muddy areas
- good water hazard (creek) on 4
- restrooms at warming house
- some elevation change incorporated
- high risk water hazard (river) if you overthrow 9

- tee signs are rather dated and primitive
- could use next tee signs for holes 2, 5, 8
- big safety hazard on hole 9, throws over bike path
- navigation is a bit confusing
- course doesn't end very close to parking lot

I enjoyed Adler Park a lot. It was one of the only courses in the area where I saw a decent amount of activity besides myself. The course is set in a mixed use park; safety hazards and conflicts were generally minimal except for hole 9 which throws across the bike path and could easily be redesigned to avoid this hazard.

Most of the course essentials are good here - good concrete tees, primitive but decent tee signs, good baskets, etc. The water hazards they did incorporate are a nice touch. The creek on 4 is a good hazard to avoid. The Des Plaines River does come into play on 9, but as long as you don't bomb your shot well past the hole you're safe - if you do, well, you probably won't get it back. The elevation change available here was incorporated nicely, although in typical Chicago fashion, there isn't a ton of it.

The technical challenge here is fairly decent, with some more wooded holes and several more open. Even the more open holes have some decent tree obstacles, but this course is of intermediate challenge at best - some reasonable distance, but nothing that will tax you all that much. The park is generally well maintained and overall I think the X factor is that this course is pretty fun. The water hazards might be the only thing that really make it special, but I think the course designers did a nice job of making this a fun place to play a quick 9 holes.

I'd like to see a few next tee signs on this course. Navigation was definitely not the most straightforward and issues could be alleviated with some simple signage. To get to the tee for 2, to left from the basket for 1 and cross the road. To get to tee 5, cross the creek and turn left to cross the road intersection. After hole 7, go right bast the basket into the woods to find tee 8.

Overall, this is a good place to play a quick round and I'd return if I was in the area. If you aren't nearby, it's probably not worth a major trip unless you're set on bagging courses.

The course starts right next the parking lot. There is a kiosk with course sign and map. The course has nice sized concrete tee pads. The baskets are older Mach II with the red numbers on top. A few have taken some lickings from local midnight vandals. Tee signs give the normal information.

Hole # 1 starts by having you throw through a modest gap before it opens up into a large grassy fairway. It plays 304'. Hole # 2 has another narrow fairway and is 366'. # 3 is still another narrow fairway for the 276' hole.

My two favorite holes are # 6 and # 9. Both are really pretty. 6 is 300', slightly downhill with a little view from the top. And # 9 is another 280' throw down a slight hill but you have to thread your throw between large trees. These two holes are what made the course special in my opinion. I'll add 1/2 point to my rating because of them.

Baskets are a little beat, some are leaning. They've definitely been worked over but they've managed to survive the Mongol hordes.
Mosquitos are a problem during certain times of the year or so I hear.
Popularity problems with too many players.
Muddy issues, as well as I've been told.

This is not quite the typical Chicago 9'er. Accuracy is more important here than most of the surrounding courses. This course plays at a recreational level. Beginners can play here and enjoy it but it's in no way what I would call a beginner's course.

In the beginning, I started playing the basket course at West Park in 1979. I had always been taught that it was the oldest course in IL, still in the ground. The PDGA course directory lists THIS course as dating to 1981. There was another course on the North Side that was in the ground before West Park and this course, but sadly no longer exists (Wilmette). My Grandmaster aged brain seems to remember this course going from 9 holes to 18 and back to 9 again, and either this course or the other old North Side 9 holer originally had cone baskets. Doesn't change the fact that this is a fantastic 9 hole course.

A nice mix of open, wooded, and hilly holes, and a look at the river. Though not overly long, there is enough challenge to satisfy most.

The course is scenic and has a good vibe to it. Very fun to play.

Well maintained.

Well, they could put some new baskets in, I guess.

This historic course has stood the test of time, and came out very well! Play it!

Great variety of shots here with decent elevation change and both wooded and open shots. Excellent signage and picnic benches offer a place to sit and rest when the course gets busy. Holes 2 and 3 feature a beautiful, tree lined fairway and test your ability to curve both left and right. Hole 5 is a challenging shot with good spacing between trees and a well guarded basket although it does border Milwaukee Ave offering little privacy. But this is, after all, a small park and Adler makes good use of the space. Hole 7 features a long open throw over a field with a nice shaded green. Overall, a lot to like. Garbage bins a plenty and the park is always well maintained. Tough to lose a disc unless you overshoot hole 9 into the Des Plaines but a fun finishing hole nonetheless with ample opportunity for an ace.

Hole 8 is a little uninspiring and hole 4 is so densely wooded, there is hardly a gap to aim for. Hole 1 used to be a fun, challenging shot but has recently been made less difficult with the removal of the tree hazard guarding the basket. Very disappointing (-0.5 rating). Park does tend to get crowded in the summer months but what did you expect in a park shared by a public pool in the north burbs?

Been playing this course on and off for nearly 10 years. Adler is about the best you can expect from a 9 hole course. Leagues on Tuesdays are fun and inviting and there are always good people out there to play with. Enjoy!

Nice course.
Good signage
Nice tee pads
Nice variety- wooded and open holes incorporated nicely into the design. This creates a nice mix for a nine holer.
Good use of elevation- the elevation that is found in the park is used abundantly throughout the course
Good distance

Hole 4 barely has a fairway at all a bogey is good on this hole. It is all luck.

Nothing great here, nothing bad though. It's all pretty good

Longest and most difficult of the other nearby 9-hole courses in Lake County (Warren and Grayslake). Some wide open holes that really let you practice powerful shots without fear of losing discs. Some holes with narrow wooded fairways that you need to use more caution on. Challenging course for people who drive less than 300 ft.
Hole 8 is an up-hill drive followed by 9 with a down-hill drive.

Not a whole lot of variety. Most every hole is straight or to the left of the tee. This is good if you are looking to practice a specific shot - but not if you are looking to mix things up a bit.
Trees are already dropping leaves and it can be difficult to find discs (especially on hole #4).
Mosquito's are vicious most of the season.
Some of the baskets seem loose.

Bring some serious bug spray - this is not a joke.
This course is generally busier than some of the others in the area. Lots of players and lots of non-player activities. I've been there when there are cross-country teams getting ready for their season.

- Nice level cement tee pads
- Great tee signs
- Well manicured fairways
- Every hole is unique and it feels like that was the intention.
- Lots of activities for the whole family
- WATER PARK in the middle of the park.
- Is a good workout for your mid-range and fairway drivers
- Park-goers seem to consistently no "whats" going on
- A few holes are very "picturesque" (2 & 3 for sure)
- Plain and simple... This is a FUN course to play
- I wouldn't mind calling this course a home course
- Blue & Red alt tees. Not easy to find on some holes. Makes it 27 holes.

- Baskets are old but I'm not complaining
- Hole #4 is kinda dumb. Chuck-n-pray
- The lil creek by hole 4 *beep*ing looks disgusting.

Another 9 holes could easily be added without cramming them in or reducing the quality of the course. Hopefully one day it happens. It be nice to get the original designer out there to do them as well. Keep the feel of the course.
This course is not super challenging. Even the tight holes have wide fairways, excluding #4. In general you need to be able to throw straight nuts between 240-320' and you can easily take a 4 or 5 down. (Yes I know that some holes are longer than this and they arn't all completely straight). Would be a great course for after work or a short time frame. Careful on hole 9, if you grip lock or throw too much disk your flirting with a stream.

Favorite Hole #1- When you first walk up to the tee and look down the fairway your left sort of puzzled as to where the basket is. Then you notice the semi-tight gap and it seems to want you to throw a gentle hyzer route. But the basket is dead straight. So you want to throw a very gentle hyzer very straight just past the bushes and trees that block the basket for an easy deuce putt. Or you can take your chance and throw a diving s-curve/hyzer into the "gap" (just above the path visible straight ahead in the tree line) if you want to go for that ace.
Go play this course its fun. Not far off I-94.

- Course makes great use of the available space for the layout. Even though a large portion of the park is taken up by a pool and some playground equipment, there is enough space to fit in 9 quality holes.
- Some pretty good elevation changes on 3 or 4 of the holes. Mostly downhill shots, with one that goes from hilltop to hilltop. The last hole has a path and a creek past the basket, so the downslope becomes that much more significant.
- Excellent use of forest and trees to make most holes very interesting. #1's basket is guarded by a large patch of forest, very difficult to park a drive by the hole. #2 is a straight/right shot and #3 is a straight/left shot through wide tree-lined fairways. #4 is a short tree-littered hole, while #5 and #6 are a little more open with bigger trees. #7 has a number of trees protecting most lines to the basket. Great variety of wooded holes.
- Holes have decent length overall, with 4 over 300'. Combined with the various obstacles, a very good shot is needed to deuce some holes. Only a couple that are short and open, some elevation on these instead.
- Some water can be in play on #4, but is really just a small run-off ditch.
- Good tees, baskets, and signs.

- Park is used by a lot of people for a lot of different things. Personally, I have never had a problem with people getting in the way, but it would be very easy. Also, you have to deal with the entrance road on a few holes, and the feeling by Milwaukee Avenue is the opposite of seclusion.
- The last two holes can seem very short and very easy, especially after the first seven. They feel sort of tacked on to the rest of the course, and don't do much to leave you with a good feeling on the way out.
- Long uphill walk back to the car after #9, would make a great upshot hole if other park equipment wasn't already there.

- This is a great 9-hole course for people to experience some woods and hills without leaving the northern suburbs. Great use of the forest, there are some decent challenges here. Overall, the course is not extremely difficult, but still very enjoyable. I think it is appropriate for all players, from beginners to people who have been around the block a few times.
- I wish I had the chance to play here when there were still 18 holes. I feel the last two holes really suffer because of the shared land, since there is nowhere else to put them. Still, the course does a great job with what it has and has a high replay factor in my book.

-Skilled shots are required
-pretty nice flow
-nice park all around
-nice mix of shots crunched in one small 9 hole

-People
-People
-People
I understand Disc Golf is an upcoming sport that everybody wants to play but come on PEOPLE! 10 person groups!?!? Everybody throwing 3 and 4 discs per person!?!? Dude.... Sometimes I wish people would just be aware that there are other people out there that wanna play too and your causing a DISC GOLF TRAFFIC JAM!!! ok, I'm done bitching...

I totally liked the course! Just the huge groups are just a good reason I'm not going to regularly play this course. Sorry!

Overall a fun course with a lot to like. This course is a bit longer than most others in the area. Good variety of holes. Open fields to heavily wooded tunnels. 1 is a bit tricky as an opener... basket is dog leg to the left behind trees. 2 and 3 are tunnel shots in the woods of some distance. 4 again hooks left in woodsiness. 5 had lotsof tree choices. Ditto, but somewhat less for 6. 7 is a long open shot to a basket in the trees and a bit down hill for a great place to grip and rip. 8 and 9 are much morelike many other local mid length, open baskte holes in this area. On a damp morining there were no crowds to worry about. Tee signs are good and tee pads are all smooth, nice concrete.

Course was a bit muddy after rain. Had I not met up with a local regular and played my first round here with him I would have had no idea where to go from 7 to 8 or from 4 to 5. Use your cell phone camera to snap a shot of the course board at the start to follow it. During summer the campers are everywhere... depending on their activities they can be in your way (or are you in theirs?).

I could play 5, 9 times and call it a course... every time picking a different approach to the basket. How many holes can you say that about. The many trees and options would make for a lot of fun. Come to think of it... I will try this on my next visit. 7 seems to get shorter every time I play it... I throw better... the long down hill helps here. 1 could be a great ace hole if the basket were in the clear... 4 is just tree pinball... but fun. I have played her many more times since my earlier review. Like this place a lot... Just do not care for hole #1... just a waste... move the basket for a natural RHBH chance at a lofted ace... and I would play this hole 9 times in a row... 2 and 3 make for a pair of annie and hyzer twins in the tree tunnel that is fun... likely 2 is the sig hole for this course. 4 is frequently muddy, but still good fun... throw annie to move inward from the stream... then lay up from there for an easy putt. I got a 3 on 7 the other day... I am driving farther every time I T off on 7 and will get a 2 on this hole some day. 8 and 9 seem a bit lame... maybe move the basket on 8 to a big annie towards the river... and move 9... somewhere...

A little bit of everything at Adler. Elevated tees on holes 1 and 9, tunnel fairways on 2 and 3, dense woods on 4, trees to navigate on 5 and 6, and a long open hole on 7.

Beautiful park setting. Most of the disc golf scenes from the comedy movie "Clubless" (2008) were filmed at Adler.

Summer days can be overrun by "day campers", sometimes taking over the fairway on hole 7.

Too crowded most of the time (very popular course).

Can be very muddy in many spots in the spring.

Close to a very busy 4 lane highway on hole 5.

One of the best 9 hole courses I've played. Adler is worth the trip.

Adler has nice long concrete teepads on every hole.

Good signage.

Righty and Lefty lines

Ask locals about alt tees

Many memorable holes with mature trees throughout the course. There are tight alleys, open with protected pin. Some nice elevation comes into play on hole 9. Don't overthrow it into the river! Holes 2 and 5 are great. Hole 7 is a nice open oppurtunity to throw a 400 foot drive on whatever line you please.

The baskets are old with only four inner chains and some of the baskets on the baskets are not too high. Try not to get to frusterated with splashing putts.

Adler day camp is everywhere so watch out.

Gets pretty busy.

Hole 1's green was recently mown over making the hole very open and boring. Hole 3's left rough is also now not punishing at all making it easy to get up and down for par now after an erant drive. Hole 4 has a wall of trees right before the green making the hole very finicky. 8 is a very boring short hyzer hole.

They should get some new chains and/or baskets. I wish the park district would take care of their course as it is loved by hundreds of players.

It used to be 18 holes.

From the narrow forest pathways of holes 2 and 3, to the wide open field shots of 7 and 9, Adler will test your skills as a disc golfer in a variety of settings. This course was challenging for me and very memorable because each hole is unique and somehow different from the previous, whether it is distance, elevation, or layout. Concrete tee pads and detailed tee signage are pluses. Discs that go astray are often easy to find as the brush and woods around the fairways are not very dense and easy to traverse.

This course is a little tough to follow if it is your first time playing it. Paths between Holes 3,4, and 5, and from 7 to 8 are tough to find and pretty far a part. Hole 4's dense wood and small brook down the left hand side are slightly overkill and make it the toughest and most intimidating hole I have played so far . The forest seems to hold water as the course was pretty muddy and slippery from a recent rain when I played it. The baskets are a little beaten up and tough to spot if you don't know where to look for them. The basket for hole 9 is not very close to the parking lot and makes for a somewhat lengthy uphill walk back to the parking lot. Lastly, the bugs can get bad, so make sure you bring bug spray.

This course was my very first experience playing Disc golf on a disc golf course. A few times before my family had messed around throwing discs at a park, but this was my first real experience on a disc golf course. Needless to say, I had a horrible time. I could not keep my disc in the fairway and I felt like I spent more time locating the discs than actually enjoying myself. It was difficult to keep my footing anywhere besides the tee pad because of the wet ground.
After developing my game a little by playing a few easier, more open courses such as Willow Stream in Buffalo Grove, I came back to Adler a couple weeks later. After gaining that little bit of experience and confidence, I thoroughly enjoyed my second time playing Adler and am excited for a trip back in the near future.
For those just starting out, I would recommend a less challenging course so you can figure out the game first. That way, when you do come to Adler, you will hopefully enjoy it just as much as I did my second time around and be excited to play it again.

-Holes 1,2,4 are amazing, and i agree with the other reviewer that said the holes get less imaginative as you play.
-No real hazards to lose discs on other than the woods(which i did manage to find 3 discs in while searching for mine)
-Lack of sun and lots of use seemed to kill alot of grass in places; makes for mud after lots of rain.
-Holes arent crowded together so there's never any confusion to which hole you are aiming at.
-Good mix of distances, only 8+9 are short.
-Swimming pool with water slide, playground, baseball fields and paths all in same park.
-Course map at beginning.
-Nice cement tees.

-Lots of walking between holes.
-Not always clear where next tee is.
-May get busy at peak times.
-Non disc golf traffic may be heavy as well.

The park is big enough that they could have made a decent 18 hole course if they had changed the layout.