-A variety of open, wooded, upslope, downslope, gaps, and an elevated tee shot in the open. The primary feature are several wooded holes played in a creek bed. Holes in the creek bed have protruding branches and rocks, fallen trees, and have canopy.

-Hole 2 was the only hole I saw with two baskets. Several holes have a long tee pad. Some basket placements are rollers.

-Tees and baskets are close together, providing a quick pace for those who desire it. Long tee pads have been added sometime in the past.

-Navigation is primarily counter-clockwise with some interweaving. Some tees have the hole number painted on it.

-Lost disc potential is small. No. 15 on the left had thick grass and brush.

-Beginners and recreational players will find the course challenging and fun. Intermediate and Advanced players somewhat challenging from the long tees on the holes that have them, and fun.

-The navigation is the worse I have played on yet. There are no tee signs, no directional markers, and a cluster of tee pads in the creek bed with no markings. There is no way of knowing if you are playing on the correct tee pad or hole since a lot of the pads are close together. Majority of the numbers painted on tee pads have faded away. The course app I was using had a hard time locating me because of the canopy, so it was of some use. The map on our site in some part does not match up.

-Fairways are in proximity of each other, and with tee pads so jumbled up, I would not be surprised if players are hit on an occasion.

-The baskets looked like the originals since 1993 and have worn out.

-Trash on some parts of the course, and overflowing trash bins.

-Grass looks like it might get mowed on an occasion. The grass passes up the ankles, and the few roller baskets were ineffective.

-The rocks in the creek bed could damage your favorite discs.

-Since there are several holes in the creek bed, any heavy rain is going to wash out that part of the course, its hilly above the course. There was soft mud, and the last good rain was the previous week.

My favorite part of the course was in the creek bed. The pictures on DGCR are from 13 years ago, and the course has changed since then. The woods are much thicker, hanging branches, fallen trees across fairways, leaning trees, canopy, protruding branches, skip bounces, and rocks to stop the skip bounce made that part of the course a fun adventure. The gaps are reasonable. The holes blur together but would only take a few visits to make them memorable.

However, the navigation is awful for a first-time visitor with no help aides. My course navigation app was bouncing around all over the place in the canopy, and there were times I figured out as I was walking down a few fairways, that I had thrown from the wrong tee pad or what I thought was short were long tees. I thought it was odd that the No. 4 tee pad was somewhat aiming toward the neighborhood, only to discover later that I had thrown from No. 10 long going in the opposite direction. Another player on the course told me he still gets confused on the course.

Despite the navigation issues, with the creek portion of the course, an elevated tee shot on 5, all provided a solid fun factor, my overall rating is anchored on a 4.0. The round took 60 minutes including the navigational difficulties.

I have read from our site an a few others the concern of safety in this part of Richmond. Yes, I could see the concern muggings, and a shooting at a family reunion. My research told me those happened early evening. I teed at 8am with only one other player, and a few walkers. The neighborhood seemed harmless. Friendly waves, I felt comfortable, and I would come back again if I lived in the area.

Notable Holes:

No. 5 long tees Par 3 at 335 feet drops straight down at 100 feet out and elevated about 25 feet. Large Oak with huge canopy on the left that interferes with any flight of the disc in that direction. On the right an outfield fence about 40 feet from basket. Fun elevated throw, pick your poison.

No. 6 short tees Par 3 at 230 feet. Looked back at the longs at 415 feet, did not see them. An upslope hole that doglegs right at a large oak tree at 150 feet out. You can either aim at the basket thru canopy and brush with a small gap, I did not like the look. Or a sweeping left to right around the canopy, I hit the canopy.

No. 16 Par 3, and I think I played the longs at 250 feet is a lazy dog leg left on a down slope. The dogleg breaks at 60 feet out from basket and upslopes. The basket is open. The gap from the tee is about 30 feet. From the tee the fairway angles to the right, gives the feeling on the downslope that your disc when it hits could slide off into some deep rough on right, but easy to find disc. A scenic hole.

No. 18 Par 3 at 280 feet is a solid finishing hole is a lazy dogleg left that breaks at the 220- foot mark. On the right is a highway embankment with trees and awkward footing. To the left heavy trees and brush all the way down, and a leaning tree over the fairway about 150 feet down. The narrow gap is about 25 feet all the way down. Get it past the leaning tree and you will be fine, Basket has a few guardian trees and a fun way to finish your round.

Signature Hole:

No. 9 Par 3 at 230 feet short tees slightly elevated and mostly downslope directly into canopy, hardwoods, protruding branches, that has a lazy dogleg left at about 170 feet out into the creek bed. Basket has guardian trees. From the tee very scenic as the morning sun was peering in directly behind me. A unique hole compared to the others in the creek bed, which are mostly flat. Gave the feeling I was diving into a rabbit hole. Long tee has less elevation, I skipped it.

Trouble Hole:

No. 8 Par 3 short tee at 325 feet a meandering dogleg right then back left and straight up slope to the basket. The basket sits on a side hill other side of a trail, but the grass was long, and the roller was not effective. From the tee there's heavy trees on the right, and a cluster of trees on the left providing a gap at 60 feet out and 30 feet wide. You see open space straight down and somewhere the basket must be there, but its further to the right. But you have no hole sign, and I threw straight down. There is a cluster of trees right in the middle of the fairway about 230 feet down acting as a guarding for an approach to the basket, the basket about 50 feet past the trees. What I should have been doing was a hard left to right giving my second shot a straight throw to the basket into a 30-foot gap. If you have a big arm from the tee, you can throw a straight high arcing to the right and over those guardian trees at least 40 feet up and onto the green. I do not have that kind of arm.

A few fun holes, a couple with slightly tricky greens. You literally enter the park and you're on the tee for hole 1. A mixed bag of shots to make, but your long distance drivers might not leave the bag, I used just a putter for a few of the holes. Shorter holes, but trickier shots and low ceilings make for a nice change of pace.

The biggest downside of Gillie's is the random, nonsensical flow of the course at times. I went there once before and got mixed up and eventually just left. Returned recently with more time to spare, and trust that when the other reviews on here say that you need a guide or a map, they aren't lying. We accidentally played the wrong basket twice, and spent a lot of time poking around for the next tee. After getting lost after hole 4 and 5 I installed Udisc to follow their map. Even with that installed, we played the wrong basket from 8. The number seems to show that it went back into the field to basket 2 again, and our confusion was compounded by the third basket having the number 2 on it. And then on to hole 9, it curves around and into the woods to the left, whereas hole 15 lies directly in front of the tee so it's easy to confuse the two. We didn't realize this until we putted in.
The second concern is half of the fairways coincide with another. The course is packed into a small area, and with 18 holes, you're on top of each other if you're following another group. Just be mindful of other players and where they are shooting, as well as yourself.

It's fun, just super confusing at times. It's nice to have a little place in the city to play, and it's a pretty quick course. There's also a lot of canopy, so if it's raining it's not that bad of a course. Just get a map or a local to help you out with the navigation and have fun!

Good introduction course to new players, has enough shot varieties that aren't too extreme that newer players can learn from. Alternate layouts and log pads can add some challenge. Has a good group that looks after it and tries to make improvements and keep it in good shape.

For what it is, not really any cons but if you're looking or expecting more you could have quite a few gripes.

Maybe the only thing to really complain about is the smell of the big brewery across the street.

Course was set up in a different time, I think the Teebird had just come out so that gives some perspective on the distances. When I first played it in 2002 it looked as if the city had given up on the park, baby diapers and needles we're not surprising sites. Local players mostly took care of the place from mowing the grass to cleanup and improvements. They have done a great job over the years in working with what's available.

This was the first course I ever played and will always be fond of it. Great course also for a putter or midrange round also.

-18 holes with alternate tee positions in such a small area is an amazing accomplishment.
-It's a historic course with concrete tees and interesting benches with built in ash trays and several garbage cans.
-Gillies Gold creates an interesting variation (see DaKine's review)
-Course is beginner friendly with limited variety in distance (180-310), but can still provide a challenge for more experienced players.

- Course navigation and flow was weak. Course could easily add the pointing arrows on the basket like Bryan Park.
No tee signs or navigational aides other than the online map (that you WILL need if you are not a regular). Even with the map, locals had to point out where the next tee was a few times.

- This course fails to account for safety in numerous ways:
Discs were flying in from all angles and you had to rush to your disc after throwing or you risk having someone pick it up. On several holes you are throwing directly towards people walking at you.
Hole 18 goes right along the road with cars parked all along the right side. Hole 1 also throws along a busy road, while hole 2 has a road on the right that could be dangerous for oncoming cars if you go to far to the right.
On the tee for #4, a car drove with in 2 ft. of me while I was driving (a dirt road goes right in front of 4 and 9)

- Sketchy area: I found a crack pipe on hole 4 and other players hint the course is unsafe to play alone.
- The one water hazard is a putrid brown creek off of hole 6.

This course was insanely crowded. I had to start at hole 14 because it was the only hole open.
Course has a rich history, but history doesn't enhance the enjoyment for out of town players.
Risk of disc loss is low, but risk of disc theft can be high, discs were scattered all over the ground and less honest players or kids can easily grab your disc and take off.

The course has alternate pin positions. The course layout flows nicely, no confusing detours to the next tee. It has seemingly equal amounts of righty and lefty holes.

No bag posts or signs. But that is reaching as they are not really necessary, yet are a nice touch.

Great course, makes you think more than most. Great atmosphere on busy days. Also, Edge league in the summer is awesome!

A great place to play if you just want to hang with some friends and enjoy the day. Concrete tees were nice and the park is reasonably well maintained. Some of the tee areas are a real challenge because of some steep drops behind them.

This park is in a rougher part if Richmond and could be a bit uncomfortable if you play alone.

A great place for a quick game.