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Bailey Park reviews
15
0
An Recreational Park-18 That Provides A Fun Round For Many Skill Levels
Reviewed:
Played on:Nov 26, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
Bailey Park is home to a park-style 18-hole disc golf course that provides a mix of distances and fairway shapes. This par 58 track provides a great combination of fun and challenging shots that can provide enjoyment to a good range of skill levels.
Location of Bailey Park is on the northern side of Camp Point, Illinois, a rural town of 1,100 strong. You will almost certainly be on highway 24 when entering Camp Point, from which you can turn north on Main and then right on park street to find Bailey Park. Park by the baseball field at the park entrance, and hole 1 will be visible to the left. There aren't many businesses in town, but there's and Ayerco, Casey's, and some small restaurants if you need gas or food; don't look for more robust options closer than Quincy a half mile down the road, or in Mount Sterling if you have a golden arches fix. Mt. Sterling or Quincy are also your closest options for other disc golf courses.
Park Amenities are plentiful at Bailey, being the main park for the town. In addition to disc golf, you will also find a couple of volleyball courts and a couple baseball diamonds. There's also playground equipment as well as a shelter. There are also bathrooms in the park in case you need a pit stop. There is a park road that goes through the park as well that many folks use as a walking trail.
Course Equipment is in great shape and looks fresh given the course was installed last year. The baskets are Discatcher Pros with those familiar yellow bands that you just love to hit with your disc (at least I do). All of the tee pads are concrete, and are in great shape, level, and have good grip when running up and throwing. The tee signs have just about all the information you would want, including a graphic of the hole layout, pin locations, distances, pars, and sponsors; next tee direction is all I could think of to add. There's also a rule list at hole 1 for new players to learn the game, including the most important rule courtesy of PDGA #001 Ed Headrick: "He who has the most fun wins!". Good on you, Teady.
Course Design at Bailey maximizes much of the unused space around other park amenities, and whoever designed the course really found some fun fairway opportunities hidden around the hills and trees in the park. Many of the holes here have tight fairways or low ceilings, and in many cases have both, requiring touchy approaches and good accuracy on low rips. The course will either have pins in white or yellow placements, with a sign under hole 1's tee signaling which is in use. The white and yellow pins both mix up shorter and longer pins, meaning both options provide similar distances and difficulties, with yellow pins totaling only about 200 feet longer than the whites.
Shot-shaping at Bailey will test your ability to throw accurate and low, as well as straight. Holes 1, 7, and 14 are examples on the course where you will need to be able to throw straight to avoid a bad kick and difficult scramble. Other holes like 4, 5, and 16 will challenge you to keep your drives low with the low ceilings courtesy of the numerous mature trees throughout the course. Other holes like 9 and 15 include mandos to make more open shots a little more challenging while also helping fairways stay separated.
Distance Variety is also nice at Bailey, with a array of par-3s combined with a few longer holes to make for a par-58 round for both the white and yellow pin options. Holes 2 for the yellow pins and hole 12 for the white pins serve as the respective par 5s on the course. With both requiring tricky placements involving either a wooded tunnel on hole 2 or a small gap 2/3rds of the way down a narrow fairway for 12. Holes 15 and 16 will be one of your other par 4s depending on which pin is in use, with 15 being tricky with mandos forcing a right turning fairway and 16 having short ceilings combined with tricky elevation. The rest of the course will be par 3s, ranging from a 210 hyzer ace run on hole 10 to around 350 feet for the longest par 3, with the rest of the holes falling in between those numbers.
Use of land is really maximized, as there's not really many useable spaces unused by the 18-hole course. The holes snake around just about every other park use, and utilize some of the more wooded areas of the park for either a tricky approach to the pin or a full tunnel shot in the case of 14.
Navigation is pretty easy despite many locations where multiple pins or tees are visible. During my round here with little info on the course, hole 12 to hole 13 was the only transition where I had to double check, and if this pin was in the white position, this wouldn't have been a problem.
Difficulty is very accessible on this course. I played yellows for my round, and ended up -1 as an intermediate-level player. If I was putting halfway decent, I'd be closer to -3 or -4, but I was also more accurate than usual with my drives which could otherwise have added some strokes. Newer players will find these pars fair and the holes a nice balance of fun and challenging. I imagine based on the hole layouts that advanced players will find numerous fun birdie opportunities here.
Signature Holes: Holes 2 and 3 come to mind. Hole 2 is a relatively narrow opening drive followed by a set up shot to put you close to a tunnel entrance, ending with a hyzer tunnel to the tee. A very fun hole that really sets up a tough long birdie early in the round. Hole 3 is also picturesque, providing an open shot over a pond that is short enough to keep you confident with only a little bit of sweat. Sometimes I read reviews on this site where people put a lack of water shots as a con. These people are weird to me, but this hole really adds to the quality of the round.
Location of Bailey Park is on the northern side of Camp Point, Illinois, a rural town of 1,100 strong. You will almost certainly be on highway 24 when entering Camp Point, from which you can turn north on Main and then right on park street to find Bailey Park. Park by the baseball field at the park entrance, and hole 1 will be visible to the left. There aren't many businesses in town, but there's and Ayerco, Casey's, and some small restaurants if you need gas or food; don't look for more robust options closer than Quincy a half mile down the road, or in Mount Sterling if you have a golden arches fix. Mt. Sterling or Quincy are also your closest options for other disc golf courses.
Park Amenities are plentiful at Bailey, being the main park for the town. In addition to disc golf, you will also find a couple of volleyball courts and a couple baseball diamonds. There's also playground equipment as well as a shelter. There are also bathrooms in the park in case you need a pit stop. There is a park road that goes through the park as well that many folks use as a walking trail.
Course Equipment is in great shape and looks fresh given the course was installed last year. The baskets are Discatcher Pros with those familiar yellow bands that you just love to hit with your disc (at least I do). All of the tee pads are concrete, and are in great shape, level, and have good grip when running up and throwing. The tee signs have just about all the information you would want, including a graphic of the hole layout, pin locations, distances, pars, and sponsors; next tee direction is all I could think of to add. There's also a rule list at hole 1 for new players to learn the game, including the most important rule courtesy of PDGA #001 Ed Headrick: "He who has the most fun wins!". Good on you, Teady.
Course Design at Bailey maximizes much of the unused space around other park amenities, and whoever designed the course really found some fun fairway opportunities hidden around the hills and trees in the park. Many of the holes here have tight fairways or low ceilings, and in many cases have both, requiring touchy approaches and good accuracy on low rips. The course will either have pins in white or yellow placements, with a sign under hole 1's tee signaling which is in use. The white and yellow pins both mix up shorter and longer pins, meaning both options provide similar distances and difficulties, with yellow pins totaling only about 200 feet longer than the whites.
Shot-shaping at Bailey will test your ability to throw accurate and low, as well as straight. Holes 1, 7, and 14 are examples on the course where you will need to be able to throw straight to avoid a bad kick and difficult scramble. Other holes like 4, 5, and 16 will challenge you to keep your drives low with the low ceilings courtesy of the numerous mature trees throughout the course. Other holes like 9 and 15 include mandos to make more open shots a little more challenging while also helping fairways stay separated.
Distance Variety is also nice at Bailey, with a array of par-3s combined with a few longer holes to make for a par-58 round for both the white and yellow pin options. Holes 2 for the yellow pins and hole 12 for the white pins serve as the respective par 5s on the course. With both requiring tricky placements involving either a wooded tunnel on hole 2 or a small gap 2/3rds of the way down a narrow fairway for 12. Holes 15 and 16 will be one of your other par 4s depending on which pin is in use, with 15 being tricky with mandos forcing a right turning fairway and 16 having short ceilings combined with tricky elevation. The rest of the course will be par 3s, ranging from a 210 hyzer ace run on hole 10 to around 350 feet for the longest par 3, with the rest of the holes falling in between those numbers.
Use of land is really maximized, as there's not really many useable spaces unused by the 18-hole course. The holes snake around just about every other park use, and utilize some of the more wooded areas of the park for either a tricky approach to the pin or a full tunnel shot in the case of 14.
Navigation is pretty easy despite many locations where multiple pins or tees are visible. During my round here with little info on the course, hole 12 to hole 13 was the only transition where I had to double check, and if this pin was in the white position, this wouldn't have been a problem.
Difficulty is very accessible on this course. I played yellows for my round, and ended up -1 as an intermediate-level player. If I was putting halfway decent, I'd be closer to -3 or -4, but I was also more accurate than usual with my drives which could otherwise have added some strokes. Newer players will find these pars fair and the holes a nice balance of fun and challenging. I imagine based on the hole layouts that advanced players will find numerous fun birdie opportunities here.
Signature Holes: Holes 2 and 3 come to mind. Hole 2 is a relatively narrow opening drive followed by a set up shot to put you close to a tunnel entrance, ending with a hyzer tunnel to the tee. A very fun hole that really sets up a tough long birdie early in the round. Hole 3 is also picturesque, providing an open shot over a pond that is short enough to keep you confident with only a little bit of sweat. Sometimes I read reviews on this site where people put a lack of water shots as a con. These people are weird to me, but this hole really adds to the quality of the round.
Cons:
Safety was the biggest con I noticed on my round. I started my round before 8am in 30-degree weather, but I'm guessing this park gets a lot of love from the community. Many holes either play near roads or other park uses. While sightlines are decent for just about every hole, there are still pins that play close to roads or fairways that are close enough where you could end up landing OB where cars or pedestrians might be. Hole 12 is right along a fast road with minimal trees guarding the road. I ended up in the ditch next to the road, which I know is on my throwing skills, but given that this is a par 4 or 5, many folks are going to be ripping drives. Just please look before you throw. Holes 10 and 11 play next to a baseball field that clearly isn't used as much as the other one but could still be an issue. Hole 6 is pretty egregious with hardly any space between the road and volleyball courts. If the courts are in use, this hole is borderline unplayable.
Course Design has almost as much variety as you could ask for in this size of a park. The one thing missing is right turning fairways. As a RHBH dominant player, the only time I busted out a forehand was when I put myself in tough situations. Hole 15 in the white placement is right turning but long enough where RHBH dominant players will likely just go with two backhand shots. Hole 14 is very slightly right turning, but it's more of a BH turnover than a forehand. There are plenty of holes where both BH and FH players will prosper, but the course as a whole definitely favors the left ending shots as opposed to the other way around.
Signage is great but could use some small improvements. Next pin directions seem like an easy thing to include on signage and would be nice on a course like this where you might see multiple tees from the pin you are at. A course map would also be great on site in case a newer player doesn't have UDisc.
Parking is limited. There's parking by hole 1 and the main baseball diamond, but if there's an event in the park, you may have a hike on your hands to find parking and then get to hole 1.
Course Design has almost as much variety as you could ask for in this size of a park. The one thing missing is right turning fairways. As a RHBH dominant player, the only time I busted out a forehand was when I put myself in tough situations. Hole 15 in the white placement is right turning but long enough where RHBH dominant players will likely just go with two backhand shots. Hole 14 is very slightly right turning, but it's more of a BH turnover than a forehand. There are plenty of holes where both BH and FH players will prosper, but the course as a whole definitely favors the left ending shots as opposed to the other way around.
Signage is great but could use some small improvements. Next pin directions seem like an easy thing to include on signage and would be nice on a course like this where you might see multiple tees from the pin you are at. A course map would also be great on site in case a newer player doesn't have UDisc.
Parking is limited. There's parking by hole 1 and the main baseball diamond, but if there's an event in the park, you may have a hike on your hands to find parking and then get to hole 1.
Other Thoughts:
Bailey Park's disc golf course may have the greatest fun factor-to-town population ratio I have run into out of my 132 courses played to date. I didn't have any real expectations in place going into my round here, but the variety and shots here really makes for a fun test of skills. This is truly a little gem of a course in the middle of nowhere, and a course where newer local players should get enough enjoyment without too much discouragement from the difficulty where they can really come into their own as a disc golfer at Bailey.
There are spots where the course plays closer to roads or park uses than I would prefer, and I think that is the main thing keeping me from dropping a 4/5 for this course, but it really maximizes the available land in the park to really become a highlight for Camp Point's primary park.
You are not likely going to be using Highway 24 for your next, or any, road trip. That being said, out of the 7 courses I have played thus far within a half hour of Quincy, IL., this is easily my favorite other than perhaps Flower City. There's no way this course is getting the traffic it deserves, but based on the state of the park and equipment, I'm optimistic that this course will get the love and care it deserves long term.
If you do go out of your way to play Bailey Park, I doubt you will be disappointed. Fun factor is subjective depending on what you prefer, but I think Bailey is a universally enjoyable course anyone would love to have as a home course.
There are spots where the course plays closer to roads or park uses than I would prefer, and I think that is the main thing keeping me from dropping a 4/5 for this course, but it really maximizes the available land in the park to really become a highlight for Camp Point's primary park.
You are not likely going to be using Highway 24 for your next, or any, road trip. That being said, out of the 7 courses I have played thus far within a half hour of Quincy, IL., this is easily my favorite other than perhaps Flower City. There's no way this course is getting the traffic it deserves, but based on the state of the park and equipment, I'm optimistic that this course will get the love and care it deserves long term.
If you do go out of your way to play Bailey Park, I doubt you will be disappointed. Fun factor is subjective depending on what you prefer, but I think Bailey is a universally enjoyable course anyone would love to have as a home course.
