Hornet's Nest DGC (no, not that one), is an 18-hole course residing in Clark Memorial Park on the northwest side of Mt. Sterling. This course has plenty of elevation and mostly open lines, making it a decent option for recreational players. Plus, when I played, there were no actual hornets, making the name delightfully misleading.

Location of Clark Memorial Park is off Damon Rd, which is accessible from Quincy Rd./ Highway 24. The course entrance is marked by a large sign and is a gravel road to the right before the road you're on deviates to the left. After you park, hole one will be to the southeast of the parking lot, kind of around the large shop building. There's a few fast food and gas options in Mt. Sterling, and not much else in any direction until, Quincy, Beardstown, or Jacksonville (no, not that one), so make sure you stock up before your round or before you drive home if you aren't a local. There's a new 18-hole course just north of town, making for a nice double header if you're passing through or course bagging like I was. 18 holes in Beardstown and Camp Point are also nearby if you're wanting a full day of golf.

Amenities are straight forward in Clark Memorial Park. Other than disc golf, there's a shelter and a playground, along with restrooms (not sure if these are year-round or not). Other than a family setting up for a birthday, I had the whole park to myself on a nice day in September, so I don't imagine you'll run into many other disc golfers on the average day.

Course Equipment check all of the boxes at a surface level. The baskets, while older, still caught surprisingly well for their age and model (DN Liberties). The teepads are all rubber. The tee signs, which are the largest ones I have seen thus far out of 146 courses played as of the original writing of this review, have gigantic tee numbers, a large sponsor spot, and a hole distance an layout on the right side. Looking at other reviews that mention a lack of distances present, it seems to me the layout and distances were originally an afterthought. I'm glad they managed to find space for that information on these "modestly" sized signs.

Course Design at Hornet's Nest is very open, using up most of the available land to squeeze 18 holes into this park. The first nine holes don't have too much difficulty to them other than elevation, with some more difficult shots in the back half. Overall, this is a course with forgiving enough lines and elevation to be a decent choice of newer and rec players to learn at.

Elevation is the most consistently available obstacle at this course. After a couple of flat holes to start the round, you have a long hole three that has a slope behind the green and a hill all along the left side of the fairway. Hole 7 also has a bit of elevation by the green, made evident by the tall pole on the pin so you know where it is, and holes 8, 13, and 15 also have notable downhill lines. On the other side of things, Holes 5, 6, and 18 are all uphill. Hole 12 plays as a valley.

Shot-Shapes are forgiving as well at Hornet's Nest, with not too many holes requiring a specific shot. Hole 3 is going to be a little more forgiving to RH anhyzer or forehand shots off the tee. Hole 5 has a couple of gaps, allowing you to throw around the left or right side of a patch of trees and cabbage. Hole 12 doesn't really have much of a fairway with the trees and valley, making a roller shot almost necessary. Hole 14 is going to be rewarding to those with a gentle left ending shot. Hole 16 will need a right ending shot and hole 17 a left ending one if you're going for gold. All of the other holes will leave you with either a straight shot or an open enough fairway to give you options on what you're most comfortable throwing.

Distances are pretty forgiving here, ranging from 156 to 406 feet long. There aren't pars on the signs, but playing as a par 3 course, the distances will either allow most folks to get up and down for a par or challenge for a birdie on a few holes without much difficulty. I would say most of the holes play around the 275 to 325-foot range after considering elevation.

Difficulty is easily accessible to most if not all new and rec players on 90% of the course. The open fairways that make up most of this course will allow folks to go with what they are most comfortable with for shot type, with occasional trees or brush to navigate. Intermediate players and up will be going birdie chasing at this course.

Course Equipment could use some upgrades now and in the near future. The baskets seem to look older than they actually are, but I wonder what their realistic lifespan will be and when they will need to be replaced. The signs are fine now that they have layouts and distances, though they are also showing their age with some getting faded with time. What could be handy on this course would be next tee direction info, as on much of this course you will find yourself surrounded by numerous large white signs, and you'd be forgiven for going to the wrong sign in a couple places. The tee pads are what I would really want to see an upgraded, as I'd rather play on natural tees than rubber. These will be slip n' slides in wet conditions, which will encourage folks to throw around them and cause some dirt or mud spots anyways. Some turf or concrete would be a great upgrade.

Hole Difficulty comes to mind with three holes in particular, as they kind of stand out on an otherwise easier course. Hole 12 really doesn't have a fairway. There are large trees all in a line in front of the tee pad, and they are also in a valley which makes it near impossible to get a decent air shot under them. This relegates you to trying either a sky shot or a roller to get any real distance, not really the options I'd like to see on a course like this. Holes 16 and 17 also kind of jump up significantly in difficulty when you add the risk factor of the creek they play over. 16 is blind from the tee, so anyone not feeling confident in gauging distance is going to be forced to lay up and take a par on an otherwise short hole. 17 also requires you to hit a decently sharp hyzer gap through a tree line and over a creek. These two holes along with hole 12 feel out of place from a risk and difficulty standpoint, and if they were easier I'd actually likely think more highly of this course for its consistent difficulty level. 16 and 17 are weirdly shaped and will be hard for even more experienced players to play well on.

Fun Factor is something I will also dock points on, as it is a course that does get boring as you progress through your round. While there are plenty of trees and brush lines around the park, you are not going to be challenged much at all to through many unique shots. If you're a forehander, you're going to throw a forehand on almost every hole. If you're a backhand player, you're going to throw backhands without a second thought. Considering the natural obstacles that are present, I do think a more exciting course design is possible here, whether that's a shorter 18 or even a longer 9. I certainly think easier courses are great to have available, especially here since the new course by Lake Mt. Sterling is more challenging, but this course doesn't manage to hit that easier mark while maintaining fun lines.

Overall, Hornet's Nest checks the box of being a recreational 18 that is mostly accessible to newer players. While it's not the most exciting course in the world, it makes great use of the land in this park and is a nice option for recreation in the primary park in town. With a harder second course in town now, this makes for a good starter course before graduating to the woods and distance you'll find at Lake Mt. Sterling.

From the looks of their Facebook page, it does look like there is a vibrant little disc golf community intown that has leagues and events both in Mt. Sterling as well as nearby towns like Camp Point. Hopefully this helps the courses maintain a good level of upkeep overtime, and maybe this course can get some nice upgrades soon to improve player experience.

This isn't a course I'd likely go out of my way for again on its own, especially with Camp Point being better and closer to Quincy, but with Lake Mt. Sterling in town as well, I could see another day trip in the future while visiting family in Quincy. If you're passing through on Highway 24, stop on by and give Mt. Sterling some love.

-18 holes, some variability in elevation and distance
-has been mowed recently each time I have played

-the basket are poor, not sure exactly the brand. They catch worse than a mach 2
-So many mosquitos in the summer
-rubber tees not installed correctly, no level gravel base causing some teepads to be very, very unlevel.
-Does not drain well
-no signiture holes, all the holes tend to blend together into a forgettable mess

I base my ratings on how far would i drive to play the course. I live 2 hours away from this course, but I would not go out of my way to play. I could perhaps see myself driving 30 minutes once a year, but overall this course is below average park golf.

All shots are vary and elevation changes on most holes . Challenged on most holes. Total 13 holes where trees are in play. 2 across the creek and 3 holes along the creeks. Some uphill throw and few throw downhill.
Has some provide trash can on few holes.
It has bathtoom and thats a plus!

Beautiful course!

Tee pad are rubber and not smooth on some holes . It can play on grass no problem.

It usually a windy weather and it make the course a real challenge and miserable.

Good to praxtice against windy condition!

I put 4.5 stars bec of everything we need there and there's a pavilion to sit and eat or relax.
The signature hole would be 16th hole.

Bright red baskets easily visible.
Rubber mat tees.
Big tee signs, now with distance and hole layout.
Plenty of room. Course doesn't feel crowded.
Nice locals.
Clean restroom.

No course layout map overview.
Hole numbers not on back side of tee signs.
Hole numbers on baskets are quite small.
No water fountain.
Tee signs give no indication of which way to go for next hole. Important for holes 14-16.

Was easy enough to find our way around course without map, except holes 14-16. Some tee signs face away from previous hole's basket. Hole numbers on back side of tee signs would help, as would indication of where next tee is situated.
Numbers on front side of tee signs are quite large and visible. Circle number signs on top of baskets are very small; manufacturer's logo takes up most of the circle.
Plenty of room to throw without crowding any other players. This course is a fair distance from any other courses. Wonderful for local population. Course difficulty will improve as vegetation grows.
Hagle 1891 restaurant was wonderful after playing.

Bright, red baskets that were easy to see from anywhere. They caught the discs real well, too!

Signage marked tee area (grass tees) and basket direction, but no distances were to be had anywhere (next step in course's development??)

Decent use of the elevation that was there.

Couple of memorable holes:
#5 Throw up and over a steep hill to the basket on the down slope of the left side of same hill.

#7 Across a flat plain to a basket down a hill at the end - can only see the flag marking basket position.

#16 Throw across a small creek to a basket only accessible by walking across a wooden bridge which is also where ....

#17 tee is located, throwing back over same creek.

For all the elevation, tree lines, and the creek that was there, it was really a very boring course.

Most holes were just open throws across the field that was used. Most holes were not suited to RHBH throws.

The lack of distances on the signage left you guessing, though it appeared most holes were 250- 300 feet long.

Hole 12 left me scratching my head... Tee shot had really tall trees in front of you about 75 feet out with no open path. They were in a valley, so couldn't go under them.

And then, from holes 15 to 18, the basket #'s did not match the sign directions. I played it how I thought it should go, but....

This was course #201 as I trudge toward that next milestone of 500!! Came out here after watching daughter's volleyball tourney in Quincy....

Course is out in the middle of no where.... Would not be worth a trip for just that course.

There were enough elements that with better thought could have made for more challenging or memorable holes.

Concrete tee pads and distance markers could gain a half point, but the layout will never make this a "wow" course.