Dubuque Veterans Memorial Park is home to an outstanding 18 hole disc golf course. It's by far the best option in Dubuque, and really the best within an hour or longer. The course plays in the wooded section of the park to the west/northwest of the parking lot. Seems to be a popular course, for good reason.

The baskets here are older yellow banded Innova Discatchers. They're showing their age by the looks of them, but these are Discatchers. Seemingly indestructable. We had zero issues with any of these here. They caught great and are still plenty visible in the shade of the woods. One basket but at least two, sometimes three and possibly more pin placements on every hole.

The tee pads are concrete. All of which are now level (thanks BTL), Nice and grippy, and are much appreciated on a hilly landscape like this one. One tee pad per hole but the multiple pin placements alleviate the lack of longer/shorter pads. No complaints with these.

The terrain is fantastic for a course. It's hilly to be sure, but not overwhelmingly so. It's well balanced as far as uphill, downhill and flat. The design is well done and evolving/improving everyday. I've only played here once but seeing the different pin positions makes me want to go back again to play some of the others as they'd make the hole play quite a bit differently.

Designwise the flow is pretty simple to follow. There's a couple longer walks to the next hole, but it's always pretty obvious due to the wooded nature of the course. There's really only one way to go anyway. The course starts right by the parking lot and ends about as close is feasible. There's a benches and trash cans located in numerous spots throughout, both of which are much appreciated.

Tee signs on every hole. Basic info on each. Hole #, map, par and distance. More than adequete here.

The course is permanent, free to play and in fantastic shape. I seen on some older reviews about the rough being pretty punishing. While it can be in spots, this has been addressed and cleaned up quite a bit from what I understand. I almost laughed out loud about the rough being untenable compared to some of my local courses. This place is well kept. Like real well.

The tee signs don't have all the different pin placements currently from what I remember. I was told they're in the process of getting some new ones. This would definitely benefit the travelling player like myself.

There's a couple holes that essentially share the same fairway. Holes 7 and 11 currently do. Actually do I should say. They do throw in the same direction though so you're not in the line of fire here. Holes 8 and 9 play in opposite directions but perpendicular to each other.

The creekside holes have some pretty treacherous dropoffs if you miss the fairway. Like lost disc potential cliffs. The rough down there doesn't look friendly either.

Not a con per se, but this course seems to get a lot of play. So it isn't going to be the quickest round you're going to play.

This course had been on my radar for awhile but I'd just never made it down there before a couple weeks ago. It was rated pretty high so that piqued my interest. I had the opportunity to play it with the guy doing a lot of the legwork out here and see it from that perspective.

That being said, I'm still going to rate the course how I see it. That's what I do. It's a solid 4. Easily. That's excellent.

I played 34 courses on a trip from central WI down to Iowa City and Davenport back up through Dubuque in a week. I'd rank only Camden II and possibly Fuller Park in Muscatine IA above this. I'd play this over West Lake 8 days out of the week. Must play if you're near here. Loved it.

- phenomenal elevation change for the midwest
- variety of open and technical holes with high challenge
- significant distance on most holes
- some holes have options for multiple basket placements
- benches and garbage cans at many holes
- some water hazards with creek running throughout course (often dry, but can be heavy after rain)
- high risk, high reward shots near ravine
- baskets in good repair
- large, quality concrete tees on every hole
- navigation is pretty straightforward with map, otherwise can be slightly confusing
- tight fairways on most holes will force you to make the right shot

- tee signs are starting to show their age and could use a refresh
- undergrowth on wooded areas can be thick and lead to a lot of lost discs
- very challenging for beginners (not really a true con to me, but could be frustrating)

I'm up to 68 courses played in 10 states, and this is still probably one of my top 5. Dubuque Veteran's Memorial Park has gained a bit of popularity but still is relatively removed from town. It's a very nice park that always seems pretty well maintained in the 15 years or so I've been playing it. While the original tee signs are starting to show some definite wear, the rest of the course looks much the same as I remember.

The real game changer here is the incredible elevation differences. Players from other locales may not think much of it, but this course has fantastic uphill and downhill shots for a midwest course. There's a large ravine on the course where you can really eat it if you aren't careful with your shot. It's definitely going to be challenging for beginners (heck, for intermediate players too) but that's part of the fun. You should expect that you will get to know some of the trees on this course very intimately unless your accuracy is well beyond mine.

Most of the fairways are tight and technical and force you to use a variety of shots in your arsenal. I highly, highly recommend having a spotter or two and scouting ahead as people are throwing. All too often you'll think you know exactly where your disc went and spend half an hour looking for it. The undergrowth can be wicked at times in the woods. We played in November thinking it would have died back a bit, and it had - but there were tons of leaves on the ground instead. We lost one disc I'm pretty sure would have been in plain view if not for falling leaves. This comes with the territory and is part of the allure of the course, in my opinion.

There are no bathrooms but most of the other amenities (benches, trash cans, concrete tees) are in pretty good shape. The grass always seems to be well mown despite being a huge job. Most of the holes are fairly long with a few exceptions.

If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking out this course. It will push your game and is a nice walk through the park as well. It can get muddy in places if it has been really wet but in general is not bad at all (unless you go down the ravine!).

-Great elevation changes
-variety of tee shots needed, you will get a chance to use most discs/throws
-Multiple pin locations
-fun and challenging terrain
-clean park with signs at each tee, garbage cans, benches
-pretty secluded from other areas of park and neighboring high school

-many tee pads are set at awkward angles because of the hills
-easy to lose discs on some holes
-tough beginner course
-brush lining fairways can get thick and unkempt at times, but usually not a problem

-huge variety of holes (shots)
-Well maintained
-Plenty of benches
-Private area
-Friendly locals
-Lots of elevation changes
-Tough tight lines

-Lots of heavy wooded areas
-Easy to loose dic on the blind holes
-A lot of alleys to throw down

I love playing vets. It is a huge challenge for me and I feel the more you play this course the better you will get at all aspects of the game. This course is very tight, with limited opportunities to really bomb disc, but the terrain is super nice, and the elevation changes make for some tough shots! I usually like to play with another person out here, there are a lot of blind shots with heavy woods. Overall, this is my go to course.

- Great use of the piece of land given for the course

- Great use of the change in elevation

- There are some nice shoter and longer technicle holes as well as a nice mix of a liitle more open bomber holes.

- The flow from hole to hole is very easy to figure out.

-If you are a fanof a lot of tunnel shots then this is a course for you.

- Field next to the course were you can do some field work

- Practice Basket

- Easy Parking

- Some of the teepads are at some wierd angles, so that can throw you off a bit.

- Might not be the most beginner friendly course with a lot of the holes being unreachable off the tee for some.

- The are a lot of blind shots, so a spotter sometimes is a must.

I absolutely love playing this course. It has a lot of elevation change that you have to play up it, down it, on the side of it and I absolutely love that. It is a very underated course to me and is one that I think should get some more foot traffic because it really is a lot of fun to play.

* Nice masonry disc golf sign welcomes visitors to the park
* Practice basket, although I thought it might have been #18 until we played ... you could make a 19th hole of the walk back up the hill from #18, which ends near #1 basket
* Concrete tees (also see "cons") with nice tee signs
* Lots and lots of elevation changes
* Good variety of hole lengths, except for lack of big bomber
* Plently of holes that dictate hyzers, anhyzers, or straight shots
* If you like woods, you'll love this course
* #12 - #15 is a fun stretch of holes
* Challenging but attractive layout
* Many holes require proper placement of layup shots
* Alternate placements on many holes
* Numerous trash cans (not every hole, but frequent); I took one empty bottle off the side of a fairway, but otherwise it appeared pretty clean
* Good course for intermediate and advanced players

* As others have mentioned, many teepads are sloped, but in all honestly, it wasn't as big of an impact as I expected
* A couple of baskets were damaged (bottom baskets or pole ... chains seemed fine)
* Perhaps too many blind shots that require you to walk up a ways for a look (I wished I had seen the ditch behind #17 basket first!)
* Only one tee per hole, which makes it more difficult to accommodate range of abilities
* Beginners may find it too difficult, while big arms and highly skilled players may wish for a few more opportunities for drives
* Since almost every hole is lined with woods on both sides, there are not a lot of options
* #13 is dangerous if there are other players in the area, in that the fairway threads through the a small area that contains #15 basket and #16 tee
* #7 & #11 share a fairway for the first part of the holes, but the tees are close and the holes play in the same direction

I'm having a hard time choosing between a 3.5 and a 4 for this course. There is a lot to like. The elevation change found on this course is fantastic. The woods make it very challenging. Referencing the title of my review, I felt like I was the marble in that wooden labyrinth maze game where you tilt the board with two wheels and move the marble along the path without falling in the holes. You're always moving up and down, left and right, and while the woods confine you to the path, there are pits to avoid.

After some relfection, I'm giving it a four, mainly because I think I would enjoy the course more after I've played it a few times. I'll admit that I played some shots a little more conservatively than I would once I was more familiar with the course. Mainly, the woods look very intimidating and are indeed pretty thick in some places, but we were able to find errant shots pretty quickly. Many of the holes are unreachable for me, and some pin locations are tucked into narrow paths and /or around sharp corners. Thus, the challenge is to learn where to place the tee shot in order to give the proper angle for the putt or approach. You also have to think twice about your aggressiveness on some shots, as the hills, ditches and ravines can offer a severe penalty if your disc comes in with some heat. In the end, the cons are relatively minor (except for the safety issue), so I'm going with a 4. Keep in mind that the course was empty when I played, so if there were more people, the safety issues and the close proximity of many of the holes might have weighed on my mind more.

Veterans Memorial is an excellent course with a ton of variety that will challenge pretty much any player.

The course plays through a hilly, wooded area of the park that is secluded from other park activities. Other than some noise from the nearby soccer and baseball fields, the course has a peaceful nature vibe.

The strongest aspect of the course is the use of elevation throughout the course. Combined with the trees that form and occasionally dot the fairways, there is consistent and effective use of the landscape throughout the course.

The course is challenging right out of the gate, with a long hyzer on #1, then a twisting downhill shot with a water hazard past the pin on #2, probably my favorite shot of the course.

From there you go through the woods, and move to the highest elevation in the park on 6-9, where there are some great views of the surrounding area. You get the chance to rip it a few times in this section, with the course's two longest shots (375 and 400).

From here the course zig zags through the woods. You'll have to use almost every shot in your bag at varying spots on this course, which leads to a fun and sometimes frustrating round. It plays fairly RHBH heavy, but you'll pay the price if you don't have an anny and an overhead shot.

The course was very clean, with garbage cans throughout. The baskets were in good shape and caught well, and the sings are very user friendly.

The most glaring flaw, and others have mentioned it, is the sloped teepads. About 75% of the teepads are not flat and either sloped uphill or to the side. This really messes with your run up, which effected my shot multiple times. You'll definitely want to take a practice run before you throw to get used to the feel of throwing from whatever angle the pad is sloped to.

4 and especially 5 were boring filler holes that did not live up to the rest of the course.

Some of the tee signs are a little bit misleading and cannot be trusted on blind shots. Because of this I'd advise walking the hole before throwing. #6 comes to mind immediately, but I had the same problem in a couple spots. Some holes have alternative pins and the signs don't specify when the alternates are put in place. Also, not really a con, but the posted par is pretty brutal on a couple holes.

Dubuque's course is a legit 4-star that is both fun and challenging. The flaws don't really detract much from the experience as there is a lot here to enjoy. Well done to the designers and DG players of Dubuque.

- Course is set in a heavily wooded and very hilly section of the park. It is well separated and used only for DG.
- Makes great use of the hilly terrain so each hole is unique, both to each other as well as other courses in general. One hole is an extremely sloped upshot, with the basket tucked away to the right on top of the hill. I have seen sled hills that pale in comparison. Another hole is a "spiral staircase"; it curves the entire time down and to the right, in a genuine spiral path. A great mix of uphill and downhill shots, to the point that flat holes were even good to see.
- Definitely demands a lot of different shots needed at this course. Holes generally only have one path to take, whether left, right, or straight. A good amount of extreme curves as well as some gentler ones, and some very tight straight shots.
- The amount of woods in each hole is just right, I thought. Nearly every hole is set in the forested area, very few wide open shots. Some holes had wider, more forgiving fairways while others were very tight. It seemed the fairway width/height was purposely made for each hole. One of the long bomber holes has a wider one, while the shorter ones were tighter.
- Some tricky basket locations with rollaway potential. It is good to know where you are throwing beforehand, if possible.
- Practice basket in a good spot to try a lot of different putts (uphill, downhill, around vegetation).
- Good teepads, tee signs, and baskets.

- The layout of this course is simply horrible. There are teepads nearly within the circle of a nearby basket, sometimes even blind. Two of the holes share a fairway, which also hurts. Navigation and identifying the correct basket can also be a nightmare, as the course zigzags back around itself many times. I think they did a great job with the holes themselves, but the course itself is jumbled and dangerous.
- All of the holes are par 3's, with only one hole at 400'. I think there just wasn't enough room to make it any bigger than it already is.
- Not too much variety, in that almost every holes is in the forest. There is no water in play, and no wide open bomber holes.

- I really liked this course overall, mostly because of a handful of excellent holes and the great use of the forest environment. I felt the difficulty level was also very fair. Every hole can yield a deuce, but it takes a large variety of shots and lines and elevation navigation to get it there. Many holes where a birdie was (or would be) extremely satisfying. Players with bigger arms may feel it is a little short for their tastes, but it is perfect for me. And, even if you have the arm, you will also need the accuracy.
- That said, I think every hole can be easily parred by playing conservatively. I found myself driving with midranges more and more just to keep the disc out of the rough. It is up to the player to decide how they want to approach it, I guess.
- Course is a clinic in tight, wooded fairways. It might be lacking a little bit in the other areas, but what it does, it does well.

Good switch from open courses. Provides a challenge. Nice equipment.

Extremely difficult to par the course. Many natural obstacles. Very thin fairways. Lots of blind holes

Worth traveling half an hour to play