The Goose Lake DGC is a lengthy walk in from the parking lot.

The course has older Discatchers with the yellow band. This course has ginormous tee pads. The # 2 pad is 33 feet long and has a dog leg right which aims toward the basket. You could park a semi-truck on these pads. The tee posts show the hole #, par and distance.

Holes 1 & 2 both have very pretty, natural fairways. I felt like I was on a regular ball golf course. But then # 3 basically had no fairway, just a 10 foot swatch of mowed grass with 3-4 foot high prairie grass on both sides. No thanks! I don't wish to spend an inordinate amount of time hunting for my disc. I don't usually stay in a normal sized fairway anyway.

# 4 is 550 feet across a wide open field and a boggy area. Boring! It was damp in late June. Boots would be requires for most of the year. # 5 plays 515' heading back. There is one solitary tree in the fairway. I never found the # 6 gigantic tee pad. I did stumble upon the basket.

I wasn't thrilled with 7. It follows a narrow fairway with tall grass on the left and the baseball outfield fence on the right. Holes 8 & 9 are both similar. # 8 is 300' with the tall grass on both sides and 9 is 275'.

And now you have a very long walkout back to the parking lot by the school.

The tall prairie grass comes into play on at least six holes. As mentioned by another reviewer, beginners and scattered armed rec players, like myself, will hate the grass. Better players will throw over it or are accurate enough to overcome it.

4 & 5 are just long, boring open shots.

There is a very long walkout after 9 back to the parking lot.

I didn't see any geese but Goose Lake is just another Chicago 9'er. It's not the worse course around but I wouldn't be too excited to have this as my home course. Hunting for discs in the prairie grass would become tedious in a very, very short time.

1) Hole Par and Distance listed on the posts by the tees.
2) Level gravel teepads are massive and allow for you to pick your spot.
3) Distance out here is one of the biggest factors in the challenge on the course. Holes range from mid 200's to low 500's with everything in between. Excellent variation allows for multiple shot holes, multiple discs to be used etc. This is by far the course with the most distance in the area.
4) Many holes definitely have some trees to challenge you. There also is some prairie grass on a handful of holes to eat up a low thrown disc and cost you distance. This also adds to the variety and feel of the course in addition to playability.
5) Scenic park with wetlands, prairies, mowed turf, nice trees etc.
6) Good variety of shots needed here, although on many holes you can pick your favorite line.
7) I love it when I get a chance or two to throw my rollers.

1) There is a missing ring on the #6 basket and the chains are rusty in spots. These baskets have seen some use.
2) The prairie grass eats up discs and will cost you some time if you throw in there. I suggest throwing in the fairway!
3) Walkpath is in play on multiple holes. Please avoid throwing if there are walkers around.
4) Portopotty is right in the fairway on #1. I imagine someone would get quite a shock if a disc hit it while they were inside.
5) Long walk between #5 and #6 as you pass #3 and #2 on the way back to the other side of the wetland.

It appears as though I have similar feelings about this course as many other people. I like that is has distance, I like the trees on the property and how the actual holes play. I do not like the annoying tall grass, the constant interaction with the walking path, or the goofy flow and broken up feel of the course. Overall I would say this is just another average course, not much more could be done out here to make it any better.

- Course is set in a neighborhood park behind a grade school. There is a walking path, some baseball diamonds, and a park in between two holes, so you might have to do some waiting.
- Some very interesting shots here, that require line shaping and accuracy. #1 is a big hyzer/anhyzer around some large trees, #2 is a soft RHBH anny, #5 is a long RHBH anny, #6 is a big hyzer behind some tall grass, and #8 and #9 are both anny/flick shots. Knowing how to shape lines is very important here. Tall grass is big punishment for errant throws.
- A lot of these holes also have blind baskets, due to the severity of the lines - either around tall grass, trees, or both. Some are protected as well, with #6 in between a few trees, and #1 having some slight rollaway potential.
- A little bit of elevation in spots, like a slight downhill shot on #3 or a slight uphill shot on #8. Adds a some fun and challenge respectively, though it's nothing big.
- Awesome variety of hole length, with a few at 240'-275', some others right around 300', and some longer ones for the big arms at 425' and 515'. Overall it's on the long side, except for those easily clearing 300'.
- Good crushed gravel teepads, signage is good with only a few missing (and maps present), baskets are OK even with 9 missing the bottom rings.

- Biggest con at this course is some walking in between holes. Walking to #1 takes a few minutes from the school parking lot, and the walk from #5 to #6 is another couple minutes. Tee #5 is also a little tricky to find, checking the map is a good idea.
- Most fairways are pretty much wide open, with tall grass on the sides. General accuracy is usually enough to go on, there aren't any windows to hit for the most part (#6/#7 the exception).
- A few holes next to park and baseball field provides some interference, especially taking the hyzer line over the fence on #7.

- I came back to this course as a refresher for the review, and I was surprised at the quality. Some tricky lines to hit, with big annys and hyzers, that needed to stay well clear of some nasty tall grass. Scoring well here can require respectable length and decent accuracy. Probably just right for an intermediate player; beginners might lose all their discs and experts won't find too much challenge.

Goose Lake has me quite confused. I either like it quite a bit or I hate it, and I'm not quite sure which it is. The course could be quite challenging if you play the tall grass O.B. It would demand accuracy on your drives, and many of the holes have some healthy distances. Hole # 1 and # 8 took away the hyzer route for a RHBH thrower, so you had to use a few different shots. The course overall was flat, but the distances set it apart from most of the flat Chicagoland 9-hole pitch and putts. They did try to use what little elevation changes they had to work with. The tees were a crushed gravel and were in good shape, and there were good tee signs including several that had a course map attached.

If you don't play the tall grass as O.B., it's just annoying. There is tall grass on most of the holes, and all it does is make finding your disc a hassle.

The basket for # 3 and # 5 were close together, and there was no need for it. They easily could have been moved further apart.

You can see the basket for # 1 from the road, but you have to walk up past it to get to the tee and shoot back to it. It is just one example of the poor flow of the course. The tees for # 2 and # 6 are actually right next to each other; you shoot #2-#4 down to one end of the park, shoot # 5 back and then take a long walk past # 3 and # 2 to get back to that 2/6 tee. Then you shoot # 6-#9 to another part of the park. Once you finish # 9, you have to walk past # 6 and # 1 to get back to the parking lot. The course is marked fairly well and has course maps on a few of the tee signs so it is easy to navigate, but the overall flow is poor.

Hole # 7 played along a ball field outfield, the fence being a bit too close for safety sake if the ball field was in use. Most of the baskets were in good shape, but the ring was broken on # 7 and the chains were just hanging straight down.

Hole # 9 is sorta/kinda tucked into the woods, but the area in front of the basket is wide open. They missed a chance at a protected pin there. All the rest of the baskets just sit in the open

I think Goose Lake is one of those places you have to figure out for yourself. I can see where some players might really enjoy it and find it a challenge, and I can see where others would hate it and find it to be a waste. Between the distances and the disc-eating tall grass it might be a bit much for a beginner, but the design really isn't challenging enough for an advanced player. Players that fall in-between those two levels might find this to be a good test of their skills. Personally I go back and forth on it. Playing the long grass OB added quite a bit of challenge to it, so with creative ground rules I could see a round being quite fun. It's not a course for everyone, but some players should enjoy this one

A variety of different shots are needed to play the course. It makes good use of the park which it shares with a baseball diamond.

The course seems very well maintained. There are fairways that always seem to be mowed through the tall grass.

The course has very good signs.

The gravel teeboxes are also well maintained and nice.

Some longer holes are on the course which is impressive considering the small park it is in. Hole 5 is 515 feet.

Tall weeds and grass can easily eat a disc that is just a few feet off the mowed fairway.

The course has a confusing layout despite the good signs. After hole 5 you have to walk all the way back past hole 3 to hole 2's tee as hole six tees off in the same area.

Holes 6 and 7 play up against the outfield of the baseball diamond.

Not a bad course, but not great either. The rough makes it almost necessary to bring someone to spot or you will lose a disc.

Nice gravel tees for each hole. Good signage marking pin location and footage for most holes, some missing. Decent use of a limited amount of space.

The course looks like it is located in a flood plain, with most of the ground being swampy, and covered with tall grass. Discs thrown into the grass can be very difficult to find without a spotter. Not much of a challenge, most holes are fairly open without much obstruction/obstacles.

It's not a bad course, it just doesn't do anything to make it stand out from other offerings in the area. Unlike some of the other "pitch and putt" courses, they do have a few long holes here, which is a nice change of pace. The grass is a killer on some holes. If you play without a spotter, keep in mind that there will be some places where you are throwing blind, and if your disc crosses into the grass without you seeing it land, you may have a long search on your hands to find it. I played while everything was dry, but it isn't hard to imagine that rain will make much of the course wet and unplayable, and I can also imagine that mosquitoes will be very thick in the summer. All and all, I would only visit the course if I happened to be in the area, otherwise, there are better courses in the area to spend your time at.

a couple longer holes, some challenging shots, need variety of shots to play, fairways and signs well maintained, quieter park

layout is slightly confusing, tee pads for hole 2 and hole 6 six are connected, not a good course for during the day when school is in session. this park get trashed when it takes in heavy rain. 3 and 4 can definitely become unplayable. make sure you check it out after a couple dry days in a row.

tall weeds make the rough punishing, tee pads are not concrete but are decent (sandstone?), bring bug spray.