-Great signs and baskets that guide you to the next teepad
-Good distance, you will need to use a variety of discs for the different holes
-Hole 11 had clever signs along the fairway that signified the distance to the basket
-Holes 12-15 have decent fairways that were cut out of thick woods
-Plays around a nice pond (non-hazard)

-Holes 6-11 (prairie holes) should be skipped. 10-20 ft wide fairways sorrounded by a sea of tall grass. Mostly flat and more windy than the rest of the course. I spent more time looking for my disc than actually playing the game.
-Holes 16-20, despite being under wooded cover, are also rather weedy. For a couple of these holes the fairways are tight which increases the odds you will throw into the brush.
-The course ends about a quarter mile from the parking lot and hole 1

Like I said before, this course can be described in three parts. The first part is 200-300 foot holes playing in a sparsely wooded part of the park. It was rather enjoyable. Holes 6-11 play through the prairie and I did not find these holes enjoyable at all. Prairies cannot be tamed for disc golf and should be avoided. All this is on top of the fact that the park district has clearly done a lot of work on the land to keep the grass short and the fairways delineated. That kind of hurts the claim that disc golf is a largely non-invasive game, at least in this case. The next 9 holes play through more wooded areas. The first several of these holes were fun, shooting between the tree line and through other wooded obstacles. But sure enough the woods got weedy again and the fairways tight. Once again I spent a lot of time looking for my disc.

There were around 9 holes on this course that I enjoyed playing, and if this course only consisted of those 9 I would rate it a 3 or 3.5 depending on my mood. The rest of the holes only bring the rating down. Not an absolutely terrible course, but not worth traveling from far either.

Coming from the south I would rather play Adler, coming from the north I would rather play Silver Lake (BTW, this course very much resembles UW Parkside). Coming from the west I would rather play Silver Lake or Fairfield.

It has 18 holes. There are not very many courses in Illinois that have 18 holes, but this is one of them. This course is a great place to play. Mostly concrete tees with painted wooden hole signs in the ground (they look really nice). The front nine holes are very open and all par 3s. The only par 4 on this course is hole #11 which covers over 600 ft. Towards the end of the back 9 there are some wooded holes they can produce a bit of a challenge. This is very beautiful course and must be checked out. It was host to IOS #1 this year.

The landscaping on this course is top notch and I am always amazed because this course keeps getting better and better by the kind help of all those who love disc golf.

This course requires a disc golfer to be able to throw a large number of different kind of shorts and can really improve your game playing here in alll aspects. This course is never boring and is good for even those golfers who are not that addicted and want to play every once in awhile because there is a short nine option through the woods.

All the open holes may get kind of boring after a while. There all places to lose discs, but then you also have the chance of finding discs with this course. There are joggers to watch out for mostly when you are playing around by the tennis and basketball courts. This can also be a little bit confusing to navigate if it is your first time playing this course. You play the first several holes on one side of the road and then you have to cross the road to play some prairie holes on the other side before coming back to the other side of the road again (where you started) to finish it off. Because this was once a nine hole course the back nine tees don't always say the correct number.

This is one of the better courses in Illinois and is a must check out. The park itself is a very beautiful place to play in and I garuntee that you will have a great time playing here. This is probably my favorite course in the area, and if not #1 definately a secure #2.

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- C
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- B+
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- C+
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- C+
5) Multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- NA

I ranked this course subjectively based on my own personal enjoyment factor...more accurately my "personal addiction factor". Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they chose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I say adds anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

Review updated 12/04/17

This course used to be a pretty good 21 hole course. It's been destroyed the year with trees cut down, holes pulled, and walking path added.

I suggest skipping this course.

Review updated 12/04/17

This course used to be a pretty good 21 hole course. It's been destroyed the year with trees cut down, holes pulled, and walking path added.

I suggest skipping this course.

Review updated 12/04/17

This course used to be a pretty good 21 hole course. It's been destroyed the year with trees cut down, holes pulled, and walking path added.

I suggest skipping this course.

Good tee pads
Good signage
Intuitive flow
Creative use of limited space
Good course to practice specific shots/strategies (forehand, opposite hand, various approach shots/discs)
Good course to introduce friends to the sport

Somewhat redundant
Once people show up, it's very tough to play certain holes unobstucted
People camp out near baskets with blankets, etc

Having went to H.S. in Waukegan and having some family back there I was glad to find a course.
This one is good for some warm-up and practice but not extremely challenging.
As I was playing my second round there people started showing up and I can't imagine how much of a challenge it would be playing this course on a weekend or during a busy summer day.
I hear Bowen Park just got a face lift...that would be a great place for a course...

- Good shot variety
- Good mix of open, semi-open, and wooded holes.
- Other park amenities do not negatively affect course play
- The 6 new holes, although wide-open are well designed with challenging rough.
- The new pin placement on 18 is a great finish hole.
- The creek is well used as a risk/reward obstacle.
- The pond in the center doesn't threaten losing a disk
- The cement pads are long and wide
- Under each basket is a red arrow pointing to the next tee.
- Locals seem to know the game and don't get in your way
- Wind can play a major factor and being so close to the lake can appear out of nowhere
- Dogs allowed on leash

- The creek and pond running thru the course is NASTY. There is often green foam floating in it.
- Hole 1 has been ruined with the loss of two trees that really shaped the hole
- It would be nice to have some descent bridges installed instead of stones and sticks pilled up or the one wood bridge that is cock-eyed and rickety.

This is probably the only course in Lake county that I would say you should play if you're in the area. The additional 6 holes and some of the new pin placements have really improved the course. Before you didnt need to bring out anything but mids and putters. Now a full and ready bag is more appropriate.
Favorite Hole #16 - This is a tight tunnel shot slightly downhill with a gentle right curving fairway. About 2/3 of the way is the creek that is about 4-6' wide at most times. The basket is protected by a few skinny trees upon entering the green. Although its a short hole finishing the hole with a birdie feels really satisfying.