- cool creek hazard on holes 1 and 9
- well maintained park
- variety of brick and rubber tees are generally serviceable
- large tee signs with maps
- hole numbers on baskets
- baskets are serviceable
- tried to incorporate limited elevation change on holes 5 and 8
- some variety in hole lengths
- course map

- essentially entirely flat with some very limited (<10') elevation changes
- major, major safety hazards everywhere
- while baskets are serviceable, these older Innova DISCatchers only have one layer of chains and could be improved upon
- flow is weird and involves crossing fairways
- navigation isn't really intuitive
- virtually no obstacles on holes 2-8
- likely can't play full course if baseball is going on
- no real amenities; no bathrooms, practice basket, etc.

Leo Leathers Park feels like another one of those Chicago nine hole courses where some park designer who had never played disc golf was like "hell, every other city has a disc golf course, this park has unused grass, let's put it in!" - and then proceeded to put in one of the most mediocre courses you could imagine.

The equipment here actually is pretty decent. However most of the holes are wide open, flat, and very repetitive. I can't imagine anyone but the newest beginner enjoying this, though if you lived in the neighborhood I suppose having this course so close would be nice.

With the relative boredom of the course and the endless list of safety hazards, I really can't in good conscience give this course any more than a 1. There are signs on the entry drive warning of low flying discs since holes 1 and 9 throw over the drive - cmon, if you had to create a sign for this you should know how bad an idea it is. Similarly, many fairways play WAY too close to each other, especially for such a beginner-geared course. Walking from hole to hole causes you to cross near fairways which isn't great either. Thankfully, no shots really throw towards the playground, which is the cardinal "municipal park safety sin" in my book. Only one other person was playing while I was here, and he still had to wait for one of my throws on a different hole due to interference issues. While I can't imagine this place ever being busy, it would be a nightmare if it were.

Hole 9 is actually pretty cool, throwing over the small creek in the park where they are trying to restore the prairie area. Hopefully the native plants don't get too trampled by players retrieving discs. Unfortunately, one hole can only offset so much of the doldrum of the rest of the course.

The tee signs here have nice big maps - they look a bit clunky with their giant homemade wood frames, but they serve their purpose well. As Valkyrie Kid noted, some of the "extra" info on the tee signs is actually pretty rare - things like the vertical elevation change (where this existed, it wasn't much). This would be really cool to see on more advanced courses with a lot of elevation change. There is also a decent size parking lot and indicators for where tee 1 is, though the rest of the course has none.

I don't necessarily mind this course for a quick round if the park is vacant, but wouldn't want to play with other groups here. It isn't going to do anything for an experienced player and isn't really worth a trip unless you're trying to bag everything around.

This is a look and throw course. Look at the basket. Throw at the basket. Not much more to say.
Nice tee pads.
Good signs
Some park ammenities - playground.
Some attempt to use elevation, but just what they had... no elevation improvements to the land.
Fun factor is a yes. If I Iived right close I would play here all the time for practice, but I would travel for serious play.

Zero golfer ammenities.
Use of terrain, the fit all 9 in here... but no real imagination was used to do it. 1 and 9 shoot across the creek.
No real length variety. 1 and 9 are longer, 3 is short. all seem soooo similar.
No tee options or basket options offered.
No signature hole on this course. 9 might have had a chance if the water really came into play. Most shooters will lay up on the near side and land the next shot right near the pin. No reall challenge to that.

This is my disc golf course rating system. Each element of the course is worth ½ disc for a total of 10 ½ disc units or 5 full discs of rating.
My 10 categories are:
1. Quality of tee pads.
2. Quality of signage, both individual hole signs as well as a sign board and course layout at the hole one beginning location.
3. Course amenities. Benches at tees, garbage cans on course, disc bag posts/hooks, next tee arrows, etc.
4. Overall park amenities. Things like bathrooms, drinking fountains, playground areas, anything that improves the overall location.
5. Overall use of available terrain features. How well did the designers use what they had to work with?
6. Changes in elevation. Some courses have this occurring naturally. Others have created it. Either way it is vital that a good course is beyond flat... even in Iowa or Nebraska.
7. Variety of hole length. Is it mixed up? Some long, some short. Keep things interesting.
8. Tee and basket options. Are there tee options and/or alternate basket locations? Can the course be played different on different visits?
9. Signature hole? Is there one hole in specific that leaves an impression? Creates a unique memory?
10. Fun Factor - Purely subjective on my part. Did I have fun?

See the above pro and con boxes to see how each category scored.

My home course. Got me involved in disc golf, but I can't rate it too highly now that I am a more experienced player. Although great for begginers, this course is way too easy for better players. 9th hole is pretty fun, 2nd hole has an interesting design, and the first hole is not bad. Very easy to ace a number of holes, the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th in particular. Great signage, tees and baskets. New rubber tees are the best I've ever played on. Just to clear up the speculation, the 3rd and 6th holes were both shortened a couple of years ago because homeowners were complaining about discs landing in their backyards. The sign for #3 hasn't been updated since then, and this is why it seems impossible that it is 180 ft. On windy days this course plays 3 to 6 strokes harder, no joke.

Extremely short, the 3rd hole is probably the shortest disc golf hole ever made. Incredibly easy, even on bad days an experienced player will shoot around 15 under. It might be a good idea to make this a par 3 course. Too many of the holes are wide open and do not punish poor shots.

I heard that the village of Mundelein was thinking of expanding the course to 18 holes, adding forest holes and the pond/river behind the forest as water hazards, which I think could make this course worth some travel time.

Good for Beginners

1st hole is far too short and has a creek just behind it to swallow an over drive. hole 4 is a little short... but plenty of recovery room before you hit private property... No tee pad for the second hole. Holes cross over one another... poorly planned and not many trees. mostly open

Leo Leathers is a super small neighborhood park. There is a small parking lot with a tennis court, basketball court, and baseball field. It's pretty much wide open with a few minor elevation changes. A creek comes into play on #9.

New rubber tee pads were installed summer 2009.

There are 9 Innova DISCatcher Baskets and tee signs.

This course is very beginner friendly. It's pretty short and open.

Hole #9 is awesome! It's 436 feet playing downhill. You have to throw across the parking lot road entrance. There are several big trees protecting the basket and a creek in front of it.

Holes 1, 2, & 9 are ok. Just play that loop. The rest of the course is a waste of time.

This is a great place to practice when no one else is there. From the parking lot every basket is within driving range.

The course is short and open with very few obstacles.

The design is poor.


There are crossing fairways. Many of the baskets and tees are very close together. Surprsingly this course gets a lot of play so this becomes an issue.

This is a multiuse park. During peewee football they are in the way and cars are in the way on #9. Watch for pedestrians!

Mundelein gets my vote for 2 of the worst courses in Illinois. Diamond Lake is 2 miles away and it's another bad 9 holer.

Check out my Illinois Top 10.
http://discontinuum.org/index...1486.msg68704#msg68704

1) #9 is simply a cool ending hole. Its too bad they didn't use the creek more to their advantage in the design, but that makes for a great ending hole and truthfully I was happy to have played the course because of #9 alone! It isn't worth a trip alone, but because I was hitting 7 other new courses (to me) that day it was not a problem for me.

2) Course has nice signage including a directional to point you to the first hole from the entrance road.

3) Beginner friendly because there is no deep rough or anywhere to lose your disc (until the creek on #9, but is totally avoidable).

4) Good rubber teepads.

5) Tee signs have lots of info including distance, and diagram.

6) Although not real punishing the drainage swale helps add to the feel of the course. You might lose some distance or roll down the hill slightly because of it on a couple holes (#1 specifically).

7) Although overall the course is fairly short, it is nice to see 2 holes around 330' and another (#9) at 436. That 436' plays longer because of an upper ceiling of trees and a creek that those trees can easily throw you into!

1) Crossing or very close fairways. Course is setup as a 9 holer and would be a better course as a 6 holer using all of the same features, just making it less crowded.

2) Holes 3-7 are simply too close togther and don;t provide much challeneg or interest either.

3) Distance on #3 of 180 leads me to believe the tee or basket was moved at one point but the distance was not changed on the sign.

I have more positives than negatives, but overall this course still leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't challenge anyone but a beginner, it is poorly designed for the property and size ( I would have only made 6 holes or something), it is pretty flat and wide open. The only real redeeming quality of this course is the creek on #1 tee and #9 basket.

Holes 1, 2, and 9 are nice, and have some degree of challenge.

The entire course is in an open field. Most of the holes have adjacent fairways that make it uncomfortable if the course is crowded.

Holes 3 through 7 have no trees and are simply open shots.

Baskets 3, 6, and 9 are too close to private backyards.

A telephone pole and guide wire are in play on hole 5.

There isn't much positive to say. I've played courses throughout Illinois, also in Wisc, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Maine, N.C., Florida, Arkansas, and Nevada, and this course is at the bottom of my list.