Aesthetically pleasing 18 hole course that plays in and around a forest/nature preserve. There is a nice variety of different holes that make excellent use of the natural surroundings.

Good replay value in my opinion.

Parking is very, very limited. It's basically just a strip of street next to the park.

The Redwing Blackbirds are very territorial on the holes playing over and around the bullrushes. My friends and I found ourselves ducking and running from these angry birds. Quite entertaining!

***I won't ever write a review where I give bugs/wildlife/foliage con feedback... you are outside, often in places where the wildlife was there long before the course. Knocking a place for "mozzies" and "itchy plants" seems dumb to me. Go in expecting nature and kit yourself out accordingly!***

I like the fact that trees abound on this course. I also like the water hazard that comes into play on a few holes. I found there to be a fair amount of variety in the holes as well. There did not seem to be much repetitiveness. I just liked the feel of being out here. It had a nice atmosphere.

The designers have no control over elevation, but it is a pretty flat course. It is also a bit short. Some of the holes are a bit too close to each other, but I guess the designers had a limited amount of space to work with. The challenge from the trees help to offset the lack of distance. I also wish there were a parking lot for the park. I had to park down the street in front of someone's house. I guess that is not much of a con, though. A little more elevation and a little more space between the holes could make this a four ranking for me.

All in all, I would consider this a worthwhile stop if you are in the Elgin area hitting up Shady Oaks or Sunrise Park. When I visit my friend in Elgin in the spring, I will definitely hit this course up again. I might even play two rounds this time.

A newer course. Very scenic in the fall. Nice hole info signage and signage/pavement markings pointing out the next hole. Good course for a brand new disc golfer to learn the value of control and choosing a good line to the basket. There's a horse near one of the final holes of the course.

While the trees are pretty, they get in the way often. I had several shots bounce off the tree limbs and trunks. Saw one tree toward the northern end of the course (#9?) that had a bunch of gashes in it from other disc golfers. I managed to miss that one. The water holes just aren't good for beginners. I was really worried about tossing a brand new disc into the pond. Hole 4 can be carried easily, but it made me nervous. At #5, I made 70ft throws along the path because I was so concerned about throwing one into the pond. Course could get busy; saw some other players as I started my round and again at the halfway point. All the leaves on the ground in the fall can make it harder to find your discs.

I'm a beginner. Played at Clark Park a few times in the 90s. For me, Black Bear Park was a difficult course. I didn't mind the trees much, even though they cost me at least 6 shots. The water was nerve-wracking for me because I have little length and control to my drives. That said, I look forward to playing this course again.

I really like the variety. Each hole has it's own personality. If you like short technical courses, this is a good one for you. Water comes into play on a couple holes for a little extra pressure.

the quality of the signage is good,

No long holes, but that's not a terrible thing. The only thing I really don't like about this course is the safety issues with the intermingling of the pedestrian traffic and the flight paths of the holes. You will sometimes have to wait a while for people to get out of the way before you can throw. I don't like worrying that I'm going to hurt someone.

I didn't really know where to go from one hole to the next, but luckilly I had people there to help me out.

Given the choice between having a course that has to share space with walkers/bikers and not having a course at all, I choose sharing the space! This is a great course to play on your lunch break if you work in the area (like I do) And I've even used the course to introduce new players to the game, since none of the holes are really that long.

- Course is crammed into a wooded and wet section of this park. There is a walking path that winds throughout, otherwise completely devoted to disc golf.
- Lots of holes are set in well populated woods. There are plenty of tight windows to hit, especially in the fairways. Lots of small trees mean that there are a ton of different lines, though some are a lot more forgiving that others. If one were to follow the "recommended" paths, a pretty good variety of shots can be found. Some baskets are protected by trees, and plenty of greens as well. Only a couple spots where trees challenge off the tee.
- Other holes have water or tall grass to act as hazards. These holes are much more open, of course, with protected greens being the biggest obstacle. So, going over or around the various hazards in the fairway is not too challenging. Still, better than wide open fairways by a large margin.
- Some holes have decent elevation changes, and almost hole have a slight tilt up or down. #1 and #18 play by a small hill, that is about as extreme as it will get. Still, better than being dead flat.
- Great tee signs, good baskets, interesting tees. Asphalt OK, elevated wooden boxes OK. Some great navigational aids like arrows on the walking path or a post pointing to #3 and #18.

- Biggest concern with this course is the layout. Many holes play directly next to each other, and the path to get to hole #7? goes right through another hole's fairway. Heads up at all times.
- This course is a real shorty. One, and only one, hole is over 300' at 301'. Some of the holes are very brainless, as they are wide open and very short. Even the tougher holes here aren't that tough because they are so short.
- One tee is right next to a garbage can, which really gets in the way. Poor design again.

- This is a great course for intermediate players, thanks to the tightly wooded holes and various water hazards. A beginner would probably find it too hard, with lines that are too tight and water/tall grass in the worst spots. An experienced player would probably be bored to tears by the shorter hole lengths and easily avoided obstacles/hazards. But, those in between should find it just right, in terms of difficulty and fun factor.

Technical course with a variety of shots required to score well. The course has also been cleared and cleaned up. Pictured tee markers are also in.

Length of holes are fairly similar. I love to see some alternate tee boxes to vary the play.

Fun course to play, it can be overpowered, however, it can bite you.

This relatively new course winds its way through a forest of mature trees. The hole design results in forced flightpaths on the majority of the holes. This is a short technical course. There are holes that finish left, holes that finish right, holes that are a straight shot, and some that require s curves. This is a fun place to play a quick round with just a mid and a putter, drivers are not needed. Tees are a mix of asphalt (painted lines on the walking path and Astroturf on a raised wooden platform. The tee signs are very nice with fairly descriptive drawings of the hole, showing obstacles, preferred flightpath and distance. A pond and a cattail marsh come into play on some of the holes adding some danger. There are a lot of tight fairways on this course that require you to hit a small window early in the fairway. I you are running short on time you can easily play a nine hole loop by playing hole 13-18 after finishing 1-3. It requires no extra walking, and 13 is where most would assume 4 would be anyway.

This is a very short course. 14 of the 18 holes are 260' and under. I would have liked to see more variety in distance even if that meant fewer holes. This course doesn't flow very well at all, it requires you to double back or walk past other tees in a few spots. If it wasn't for the numbered arrows spray painted on the walking path this course would be a real bitch to get around. The ground here can get very muddy after a rain, and the teepads look like they would be very slippery when wet. The course plays away from and back to a walking path for many of the holes. This creates waits and makes it easier to hit someone.

I guess I would classify this one as a technical pitch-n-putt 18. There are some fun shots here, and it is always gratifying to hit a narrow gap and park a tee shot. It is way more enjoyable than Summit, which this course resembles with its many very narrow fairways lined with tons of trees. Unlike Summit, at Black Bear a great shot should be able to park each hole, which is not the case at Summit (even on some very short holes).

The course plays through a small flat wooded area around a small pond. Most of the holes play down fairly narrow gaps in the woods, with limited underbrush. A few holes are a little more open with some scattered trees, and still bring the woods into play on errant drives. The pond comes into play on a few holes for a nice bit of water hazard, and all water holes have bail out options for players who can't clear the water. There is a pretty good balance of right and left turning holes, with some straight shots mixed in.

The tees are marked areas on the asphalt path, or nice large boxes with an astroturf surface. All are plenty large, and the tee surfaces were level. The signs are really nice, with hole layout and distance, next tee information, and good solid wood posts. The baskets are brand new discatchers and catch well. Navigation is a breeze, the couple places where the flow is not obvious, the next tee is indicated with arrows on the ground.

The course is a little crammed in to a small space, so many holes play very close to one another. Because the park caters to newer players who tend to be less accurate, discs can easily end up on other fairways, making a possible safety hazard on busy days. Many of the holes play from and along a walking path, meaning that if the path has other users on it you'll end up waiting while people walk the length of the fairway. The course is already pretty popular, so you may end up waiting on other groups, including some large groups

The course doesn't have room for much length, so it won't challenge anything but your short game, the longest hole is still barely 300' and the majority are much shorter. A few of the holes could use a little more clearing, there is no real fairway to the hole making them just luck holes.

This course is a lot of fun to play, and is a great place to work on your short game or play a super class or putter only round. There is a good amount of challenge for the length of the course, and a good mix of different types of holes. There are some design and safety issues, and those are the main reason my rating is only a 2. That said, it's a great beginner course, and a good place for more experienced players to work on their short game. I definitely recommend a stop for a fun round here, just be prepared to watch for discs from other holes and to wait on other groups and pedestrians. Bring bug spray, there can be a good amount of mosquitoes especially in the evening.

Tight, technical Course
Good Signage (Photos here need to be updated)
Nice pads
Nice variety of short range shots.
Beautiful Area
Fun Hazards
The 18th is a real nasty one.

Bugs due to all the standing water.
Poison Ivy
Could use some trimming
Holes are a bit too close to one-another, almost on TOP of each-other

I can see this place getting really crowded with a lot of waiting going on. Some holes tee off a few feet away from where the basket is. Not for beginners as it's really easy to lose discs in a variety of hazards, trees, tall-grass, etc. The poison ivy makes digging for them that much more of a challenge.

Likely a better course in the off-season without the bugs and the crowds. Stick to your favorites in the summer.

This course is actually a wildlife sanctuary in Cook County, including a variety of trees and wetland areas with diverse plant and insect life. Virtually every hole includes some trees with which to contend, while holes 1-3, 7-9, and 13-18 are entirely in the forest. Water also comes into play on many of the holes ranging from tiny creeks to a sizable lake in the center of the park. This course features very short holes, only one of which measuring over 300 feet (Hole #10: 301'), which would make it ideal for beginners. The good amount of hazards somewhat balances these lacking distances and could make for some frustrating holes, and realistic recovery shots to scramble for par.

- Lots of insects because of the trees and water, also there is poison ivy on course per the tee box signs
- Very tight design with holes very close to one another
- Walking path throughout course often goes right through the fairway; golfers often wait to tee off for people walking
- The short distances are going to be too undemanding for most skilled players

This course is pretty new with the park dedication officially in May 2010, so overall it is in good shape. The course is short with plenty of hazards in the trees and water, particularly on the last six holes. There are plenty of trash cans, clearly visible mulched fairways, and the tee boxes have either an artificial grass pad or a white line painted on the concrete path (both slippery when wet). Perhaps the best appeal of this course is the challenge on the golfer to use mid-range and approach shots effectively to maneuver around the course.

For a brand new course, this one is amazing. It is immediately obvious that lots of planning and conscientious hard work has been done to make this place beautiful. From underbrush being cleared completely, to well mulched paths, to amazing signage and astroturf tee pads this course will impress!

With the first 9 holes playing along an asphalt walking path and the entire course in view of neighboring houses (nice neighborhood too!), it is amazing how natural it feels. The use of cattail marshes and ponds on 4-5 holes gives some challenge and some unique prairie beauty.

With holes mainly in the lower to mid 200's (with a few shorter) and a few longer it caters to the beginner. It pains me to rate this course as low as I have, but I am attempting to accurately and honestly compare the playing experience to other courses I have played. What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 hole courses:

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C-
(Most of the holes are too short to conceive of getting a bogey 4 on. There are a few very tight holes - unfairly tight where even accomplished players can only throw and pray.....poke and hope.)

2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == C-
(Only 2 holes I would put in this class (10 & 17) but those are offset by several <200' holes.)

3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == C-
(It is about 2/3's wooded - holes where the woods come substantially into play. Problem is, almost all the throws are straight ahead with just slight fade to the right or left required. Very little creative shot making is required)

4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(As stated above, the beauty and serenity of the course is what makes it stand out.)

5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == N/A

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well this course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. See my profile for specifics on my rating philosophy.

I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (150+ 18-hole, 90+ 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.

- Lots of shot variety
- Tight gaps and unique fairways in the woods (assuming that the wood chip path is the intended fairway)
- Water holes flirt with the water but are not to dangerous.
- Wind moves through the course nicely
- Although short it does force accuracy from the tee.
- Tee signs look like they will be nice large and well marked. (stand is there sign is not)
- Love the Turf tee pads. Really similar to throwing from grass.

- Holes criss-cross over each other.
- The path that runs throughout the course is on the fairway of almost 3/4ths of the holes. Summertime will bring heavy traffic and probably make the course very agitating to play.
- Lack of a parking lot is going to cause huge traffic issues with the local neighborhood
- Alot of the holes tee-off from the path. There are no markings on the path for "official" line.
- In such a confusing layout there should be numbers on the baskets. If you follow the woodchip path and use the tee signs you can easily navigate.

I am reviewing this course before the course has been officially finished/opened. I am not going to count against this course for the features that have not been implemented.

The course really works your short game. Its a nice change to the other local courses that are longer and more open.
For the land available a 12 - 15 hole course would have made a far more challenging course. An easy way to improve the course difficulty would be to tee off from the path further behind the tee. Allows you to put thos putters and mids away and bust out your drivers.

Favorite Hole #18 - The finishing hole is a bit intimidating when you walk up to it. I'm guessing its like 280'ish dead straight. The majority of the fairway is a open area with in the woods and a high ceiling. Right as you reach the creek that runs across the fairway (~ 3/4ths the way down the fairway) and then down the entire right side, you encounter a tight mess of skinny trees with few gaps to get through. About 10-15' past the creek the gaps in the trees open up a lil more. The basket is slightly up a short steep hill. Pick a line and rip one out, hopefully you make it through some sort of gap.

Despite that its official opening will be in 2010, Black Bear is an old-style Frisbee golf course. The shots are on the short side (there was one 300'ish hole, the rest were under 300') and much of the course is heavily wooded. The tees are either incorporated into a paved walking path or are Astroturf, so there was good footing off the tee. The baskets were new DISCatcher Pro's and were all in good shape. The course is still being completed, but large tee signs were being erected at each tee. The park itself was still under construction, but there seemed to be a lot of resources being used there. It should be a very nice park when it is done.

Once I was standing on the tee for #2, I could see eight baskets. That's usually not a good sign. The park is rather small and the 18 holes are crammed in there. The heavily wooded nature of the site cuts down on some of the danger factor of having the holes so close together, but it still made me feel uneasy.

Most of the wooded holes don't have much in the way of a defined route to the hole, so you just poke and pray. Despite this, the course really wasn't all that challenging. It really is just a pitch an putt.

The flow was poor. The course starts on one side of the park, then moves to the other side of the park and comes back. You end up shooting back at holes quite a lot. It was a little confusing, but there were good signs. The tee for # 2 and # 4 are in the same place, and I went the wrong way the first time and played # 4 when I should have played # 2. Other than that I found my way around. The baskets do not have numbers on them, and given that so many of them are so close together they really should be marked.

There is some water on the course, but the holes are very short and it is really hard to use water effectively on short holes. The water really does not come into play. There is a little bit of elevation, but most of the holes are flat.

The park is in a new neighborhood surrounded by McMansions, and the walking path is heavily used by the local yuppies. With many of the holes using this path as a tee off area, conflicts with the neighbors will be inevitable.

While 18 holes is nice, this site could have had a 9-hole that was better designed and more challenging. Instead, there are 18 unremarkable holes crammed into this small space. This is a case where less would have been more. It should be a nice place for a recreational round. It seemed like it would be a good spot for a local league. It was pretty OK, just nothing special.

Black Bear Park is very new. The baskets at the park are nice new disc catchers. There is a concrete path that winds through the park and many of the holes tee off of this path. Back in the wooded holes that don't shoot off the concrete path there are nice astroturf tees which provide good traction even when wet.

There is a decent mix of technical holes and easy open holes. Even some of the open holes provide a decent challenge. Hole 10 is a 300' shot along a pond. It is open, but the basket is well guarded by trees and brush. A shot close enough for an easy 2 could easily turn into 3 because of this. The more wooded hole have some tight lines provide a decent challenge.

The park is very well manetained. Through all of the wooded holes there is a mulched path to follow making it easy to get around even if the ground is a little soggy. The mulch is also around all of the baskets at to at least 20 feet.

The signage at the parks appears to be barebones in prepartion for more enhancement. Wooden posts with a place for some sort of insert have hole numbers spray painted on them. Even as it is the signs are easy to spot and have the distance listed which makes it easy to get around.

Black Bear Park is very short. You won't need much more than a fairway driver or a midrange if you have a big arm. There is only one hole ever 300 feet in length.

Pedestrians are a huge concern. I played at 5PM in March and the park was overflowing with extra people. The park has a walking path that winds around the ponds that frequently has walkers and joggers. There is also a basketball court and a playground near hole 1's tee and 18's basket. Since most of the holes use the pedestrian path that runs though the park as a teeing area, there can be some delays while waiting on people to be safely out of the way.

Holes 7 and 8 are missing the baskets. It appears as if someone took them off of the pole (as the pole is still there).

Compared to the other nearby courses Black Bear Park can provide some unique challenges despite it's short length.

There is water in play on holes 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, and 18 that come in the form of a few ponds and a small stream. Though it would take an errant shot to land in these because most of these hazards are close to the tee or a good ways off to the side.

The park is tucked back in a nice small neighborhood park. There is a walking path in the middle of the course in which many of the holes play on. There are several tight wooded holes. The underbrush has been totally cleared so looking for discs is not an issue. For the most part this course is pretty flat. There is some water but it takes some really bad shots to find it.

Nice big tee signs.

Asphalt or Turf Tees.

Brand new Innova Discatchers.

Variety of shorter holes. Open, tight. There is only 1 hole over 300ft. Works your mid and putter game.

The description says this course is landscaped for disc golf. I don't think that is an accurate description as it's landscaped for a walking path that the course plays on. The day I played there were a ton of walkers on the asphalt path. A 1/3 of the course plays directly down the walking path. I had to wait on all those holes.

Hole #5 is absolute classic poor design. You throw right over a dock where people tend to gather. Check out the picture.

This park is not very big and 18 holes were crammed into it. There are 2 places where you have to walk across another fairway to get to the next hole. There are also several areas where baskets and tee pads are very close together.

Several of the wooded holes are poke and hope type holes with no route to the basket.

This course lacks challenge. I am a 985 rated player and shot a -9(45) the first time seeing this course. My Intermediate level rated friend shot a -5(49).

The water really doesn't come into play unless you throw some really really bad shots. This was a feature that could have been utilized more.

If you are in the area i'd say go ahead and stop to play this course. Do not travel out of the way to play this course. It is not worth it.

This could have been a killer 9 to 12 hole course but it's a short/easy 18 hole 4,205ft course.

Check out my Illinois Top 10.
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