- park is generally in decent shape
- good challenge that forces shot placement
- hole lengths accessible to any level player
- some unique fairway setups (nice if you like a real challenge)

- some areas in big need of a fresh mow
- tee signs are pretty basic and are missing on 2 and 8
- tees are gravel and just ok
- really need a spotter on holes 3, 7, 8, 9 due to tall grass/prairie plants
- port-o-potty right in front of hole 1 tee makes it rather tough to have a decent line to the basket
- some long walks and navigation challenges
- parking situation is not ideal (school parking lot was blocked off when i was there, street parking is a bit of a walk)
- hole 9 has a tree very close to the tee that again makes initial drives rather challenging
- some fairways are so narrow it's to the point of being unpleasant
- some of the DISCatcher baskets are in poor repair with rusted chains and broken/missing chain retaining rings
- no practice basket

I tried to be fair to this course but I struggled to find many positives. I love a challenge, but I don't love hunting for discs in the grass for 30 minutes. Despite throwing into the rough many times I was never looking for more than 5 minutes - I attribute this to luck, because the rough on this course could seriously eat discs. Some of the fairways are so narrow you're all but guaranteed to end up in the rough a few times. I enjoy technical courses but I prefer trees/obstacles to thick undergrowth like this.

The signage was basic and the baskets are showing their age. Still, everything was serviceable. I do think the design of this course could have been better thought out. There is a permanent port-o-potty about 20 ft in front of the hole 1 tee. Between that and a tree there's really not much space to eek through. Again, I like a challenge, but obstacles this close to the tee make the hole a bit gimmicky and luck-driven in my eyes.

Hole 5 seems a bit hazardous, you are basically throwing straight down the walking path. It's a rather poor design for safety and efficient flow of play.

Hole 7 has you throwing almost entirely over rough grasses and trees. It's almost asking for a lost disc unless you try to go around it (RHBH hyzer way wide or the like). At some point it's more irritating than fun. I've played courses that kick my butt and put me 20 over par that are still fun, but the challenge is reasonable and rewards good play on those courses.

All in all, the biggest con here is the rough tall grass areas. It's a serviceable course, but probably one of my least favorite I've played in Chicagoland. I would probably return to almost any other course in the area instead.

Very challenging especially if you play OB
Teepads are very nice

Extremely challenging for a beginner player.
Needs to have someone clean up all this tall grass all over the course
I would assume later in the year this course will be very mosquito heavy

I didn't like how narrow the fairways were on almost every hole. I also didn't like how close the Baseball diamond was to where I was playing.

Nicely mowed fairways, some nice par 5 s. The map at the beginning was nice but I had to take a picture of it to find my way to the tee boxes

This course needs some work. The fairways at this course are about 70 feet wide with 5 foot grass on each side. I spent more time looking for discs than playing. The baskets needed some work too. At least four of the baskets had no rings around the pole, so the chains would hang straight down and knock your disc out. Many of the tee signs were either missing or laying on the ground. I don't think I would go back here any time soon.

This course is always very quiet but I know why that is now. This one I wouldn't go out of my way for.

Level gravel tee boxes. Holes #6 and #7 are scenic and the trees were worked into those holes nicely. I wish the rest of the course was more like these holes.

Difficult for players who lack power and/or precision. Most holes are bounded by tall grass, so a poor throw may be costly. Some of the fairways were only about 12ft wide. At #4 and #5, there are few obstacles. Those fairways are wide and all you do is throw your disc as hard as you can. Long walk from #5 to #6. You end up feeling like you played more than 9.

It seems like the course was forced to fit the landscape. To make this course better, they would need to mow down more of the wetland plants and grasses so you're not trying to thread a needle or carry an expanse of grass. But that would go against the park district's likely wish to keep this area natural. The park is popular with dog walkers who seem unaware of the course, so watch for them.

Goose Lake is one of the many shorter nine hole courses in the Chicagoland area. Like others, it is relatively wide open with very few obstacles to contend with and while it does require that a player is able to throw a driver or two, it makes up for this positive feature with nasty waist-high grass that lurks just off of many of the fairways. In the summer, the grass is pretty unbearable and on my visit in the winter the mud, while not terrible, was certainly a bit of an unpleasantry.

Use the trees!: There are several places where the natural features of the park (trees and brush) could be used much more effectively. There are several points where it seems that trees were almost purposefully avoided in the design. This park, while not huge, has room enough to add a bit more challenge and utilize available obstacles a bit better.

Long grass: Long grass and reeds really bum me out as obstacles on a disc golf course because they maximize the annoyance of having areas that are tough to find your disc while minimizing the actual punishment (score-wise) of throwing into these areas. Really it isn't difficult to throw out of even waist high grass when there aren't any other obstacles between you and the pin. Get your tomahawk/thumbers ready!

Goose Lake is 'par' for the course for the massive collection of nine hole courses in the area. Its fairly open, has little elevation, and overall doesn't have many features that challenge a player to play their best game. Newer players will probably enjoy the low-challenge level but would probably prefer to play at a park without the annoying grass rough. Players with more experience will probably enjoy the chance to air out some longer drives but won't experience any penalties for spraying off the tee.

Goose Lake Park's greatest asset is length. Like an island in a sea of short pitch'n'putts, Goose Lake provides refuge for underused distance drivers. Don't get the wrong impression though, this course is nothing special. Hole 1 was well designed to make a RHBH hyzer impossible except for big arms. The anny route is treacherous, with a cattail marsh to the left of the fairway. After that, the design is more blah. The crushed gravel tees provide good traction while still allowing you to pivot easily.

The baskets need a tune up, they are abused Innova Discatchers. About half of the baskets are missing at least one of the rings that holds the chains together, leaving the outer chains hanging straight down. The layout here isn't very good, there is a lot of backtracking between holes. Looking at the land, I'm not sure that there was a better layout but the flow here sucks. Some holes also throw over or along walking paths, make sure its clear before you drive. Very wide open, there are no obstacles to air shots with the exception of 2 or 3 holes. The main obstacle is the long grass that surrounds most fairways. It won't get in the way of any lines, but it will drive you nuts if your disc ends up in it. The tee signs are very basic, with only hole # and distance. On the second longest hole, the sign is located directly behind the tee making a long run-up awkward.

Park in the school parking lot. The apartment complex parking lot nearest the first tee is full of tow-away signs. Walk straight back from the school parking lot and down the asphalt walking path to the first tee. Bring a buddy so you can watch each others shots or play a safe line. The long grass can be hell if you are not exactly sure where you went in. Next time I am out at this course, I will bring some wire or a couple of old coat hangers next time I am at the course and will try to temporarily fix the baskets.