Dr. George W. Hilliard Park in Beloit plays host to the oldest disc golf course in Wisconsin, a short 9-hole track across the park's modest 6 and a half acres. This short course is very accessible to new or young players with limited distance, making this a decent course to play while learning the basics of the game.

Location of Hilliard is on the southwest end of Beloit, within spitting distance of the state line. There are plenty of food and gas options in town, especially if you take the exit off I-39 or I-43 at route 81. For course baggers, there are plenty of courses in Rockford and Janesville collectively, leaving plenty of options for those like me who were traveling up I-39. For beer lovers that are visiting from the south, make sure to pick some New Glarus up before crossing back into Illinois.

Park Amenities are limited given the space to work with in the park. Other than disc golf, there is a nice pavilion that seems to get some good use, playground, and a bathroom with a drinking fountain outside (the fountain was not working during my visit). There's a sports complex next door, but that is not a park of the park but rather for the nearby Beloit College.

Course Equipment checks all the boxes that you'd want to see checked for a disc golf course. The baskets seem to be a mix of old models, but hey, there's 9 of them, so Hilliard as that going for it, which is nice. The tee signs have been upgraded from the original fiberglass to ones that have the hole number, par, distance, and very basic hole graphic. Each hole had a concrete tee pad, all of which were nice to throw from and didn't have any issues that I ran into.

Course Design is straight forward at Hilliard, given he limited space. Most shots will be straight while utilizing the more mature trees around the park to add obstacles to avoid. The course par is 30, which is generous, but more accessible to brand new or younger players.

Shot-Shaping isn't something you'll have to keep in mind for most of the holes here, but holes 3 and 4 do play close to a tree line, requiring left turning shots unless you choose to navigate tight gaps. Other than those two holes, lefties, righties, backhand or forehand favoring players will be able to choose what shot they want to throw on each hole without having a disadvantage.

Distances are consistent, ranging between 208 and 310 feet. Many players will not need a full bag to play this course; I took one look from my car and grabbed a putter and mid out of the bag, and had no regrets just using those two discs for a round. A mid and fairway should be enough for most people to reach each pin placement unless you hit a tree.

Difficulty are Hilliard is geared towards newer players given the general openness and shorter length of the course. Intermediate players will enjoy a low scoring round more than likely, while new and young players will find the course accessible and forgiving to trying new shots or not having as much arm speed to distance.

Course Design is good considering the land available but is otherwise bland. Pretty much every shot is straight with little incentive to stray from whatever shot type is your go-to method of chucking plastic. The park is also one of the flattest pieces of land you will find anywhere, with no elevation challenges to be seen. Players with carts won't have issues at Hilliard unless you find a rogue tree root that I missed.

Course Equipment could also use an overhaul, mainly the baskets. The tee pads and signs are more than enough to get the job done, but just about all of the baskets are showing their ages and look to be past their intended life spans. New baskets would really elevate the quality of this course, as the current baskets look like they spent too much time with John Mulaney in late Fall of 2020. I had a few putts that were close to chaining out despite being very on target, and I can see how some other folks have had issues with missed putts that should have found the bucket.

Parking is limited to the street as there is no parking lot for the course. There seems to be enough space on the street where you won't be in the way of other park-goers or neighbors - just don't block any driveways.

Overall, despite its age and condition, Hilliard makes for a fun, short round of golf. I had limited time to play here, but comfortably finished a round in under a half hour without rushing. Some folks mentioned the area seemed sketchy during their rounds, but I really don't think you're going to have safety concerns during a round here. Just be aware of surroundings and lock your doors like you should do anywhere anyways.

If you're a local and new to the game, this is a great course to get your feet wet. Otherwise, I'd recommend this course to mainly course baggers or those who like a little disc golf history considering this is the oldest course in Wisconsin.

This course is set in a very small park in Beloit. It's basically disc golf exclusive except for the pavilion area which can get busy apparently. There are concrete tee pads on all 9 holes. Nothing special with these but nothing to knock either. These work just fine here. The baskets are very old Mach's I believe. They got the number plate on top minus most numbers. They are not in great shape and don't catch all that well to be honest. The tee signs are present on most holes. Basic hole diagram, par, hole # and distance. The course is free and was pretty clean and the grass was mowed. Course flow was pretty easy to follow.

The whole set up here is showing it's age. The tee pads are fine but the pins and tee signs are in rough shape. As mentioned earlier it's not the best neighborhood but it's not the ghetto either. It's not that bad to deter you from a quick 20 minute round. Other than that not much to say about this tiny 9 hole.

Definitely not worth any kind of trip out of your way to play. But if you happen to be here and can only play this or are strapped for time you can do way worse than this. It's an older city park 9 hole. Nothing special. The definition of reasonable.

George Hilliard Park in Beloit, WI is a very "reasonable" course. It's got the typical course equipment...tees, signs, and baskets. The equipment isn't the best, but just very average.

This course is pretty secluded from everything else. It's in a neighborhood park that has a playground, but I can't imagine it gets very much use. There wasn't a single person in sight while I played my casual round here. The layout is pretty intuitive. Chances are, you'll have the course to yourself.

The area is a little sketchy. You have to park on the side of the road as there isn't a defined parking location.

The terrain is pretty bland. There are no elevation changes, no water, and no really wooded holes. It's set in a public park, so the feel is very urban. The signs are very bare-bones, just hole number and yardage.

I don't know if there is very much more to say about this course. It's a quick place to hit if you're traveling on the I-39, but it's nothing memorable. I travel from Madison to Normal often, but I don't know if I'll be back to play this course again. It would be a great course if I lived in the neighborhood...but outside of that...it's just another course to add to the the list.

the course in a well maintained park with mature trees that does the best it can with the space that is available. The concrete tee pads are very nice, as are the signs that are available. There is a decent mix of hole lengths for a noodle arm like I myself have.

This course is very beginner friendly if no one is on the playground equipment and such. A great place to work on mids and putters.

this is not a course for advanced players or anyone looking for a challenge. Though the course does a decent job of using the trees to create what they can on holes, there just aren't enough to present any type of fun when repeating a round there.

Navigation here is a pain and made me take way longer than should have been reasonable. Between the crossing fairways, missing signs, and randomly numbered baskets, it get pretty frustrating rather quickly.

There are too many places where throwing at or near a playground or pavilion is what you need to do. One hole has a basket about 20 feet from a tennis court.

I had business in town or else I would never have stopped. If I ever play here again, it will by accident as there is no reason to ever come here multiple times unless you a local.

1) Cement tee pads are always positive. It kindof surprises me, that this course had them just because of how small the course is, the limited use I expect it gets, although it is the only course in Beloit. Teepads are trapezoidal giving you a 4 foot wide area for your plant foot.

2) Nice descriptive signs where applicable. 3 or 4 of them however are just blank white and have been sharpied with a supposed alternate hole to make an 18 hole course. One sign is missing and an entire sign and sign post is missing on another hole.

3) Has a nice little area for a practice basket with stones set for a practice putting game.

4) Excellent design for the small property. The course uses the mature trees to the fullest extent creating some different lines for different people.

5) Nice exposure to the sport for a small industrial economically challenged city.

6) Very beginner friendly because of how short it is and how almost impossible it would be to lose a disc.

1) Confusing layout, also made more difficult because some of the baskets have #'s signs and some do not. It is made even more difficult because the "alternate 9" that someone invented throwing from 1 tee to 3 basket, 7 tee to practice basket, etc etc etc is written on some of the signs that have no original hole layout on the sign to begin with.
I know it would be easy for the locals who play regularly to figure it out, but as a firsttimer I got lost twice. I am not an idiot believe it or not and it is sortof embarrassing it happened twice on a property that cant be more than a couple acres with 10 baskets!

2) Missing tee signs and a handful of blank tee signs.

3) Not sure about the neighborhood, but dont be too worried about your car . . . you are no more than a long destroyer throw from your car anyways, and you can always see it.

4) As others have said a couple of the baskets and tees are awfully close to the pavillion area and picnic tables, so if crowded with other activities, those hole might be tough to play. I can also imagine playing the "alternate 9" would be near impossible. If there were other disc golfers it would be for sure not playable.

I wanted to give this course a lower grade because of the layout and tee signs issues, but realized it would only have been trouble the first time through the course. There are some pretty decent holes on the course because of the use of the mature trees. All in all it was an average course. It mixed it up pretty well with shot requirements which is always good.

This course is crammed into a very small piece of land. Major kudos to the designer for milking every ounce of potential to make several very interesting holes!

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C-
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I throw 300' accurately, 360' max. == B
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B-
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == C
5) Bonus points for multi-shot 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 the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (125 18-hole, 64 9-hole as of mid 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.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I can add 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....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.