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Marilla Park DGC reviews
8
0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
20 years
1008 played
579 reviews
Reviewed:
Played on:Jun 9, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Marilla DGC is a solid 18 hole course in a beautiful park. The front and back nines both start and end by the parking lot and due to it's location is probably rarely too busy, if ever.
There's some decent variety here. The front nine is shorter and more open and flat, though not completely in either sense. The back nine is were it really starts to get exciting. Hole 15 is the signature hole. An 855 ft. par 5 that plays probably 350' straight before hooking ninety degrees to the right for the last 400 or so feet with water off to your left for most of that distance. This ones a good get if you can place your shots in a decent position. Hole 17 is a tight uphill gap to the top of the hill with hole 18 being a reverse of 17, just longer. Nice way to finish off the round.
The tee pads are concrete. These are decent sized, level and have great traction. One tee pad per hole. No complaints with these.
The baskets are yellow banded Discatcher Pros. These are all in good shape and catch great. All were mounted level too. One basket and pin position per hole.
The flow of the course is pretty easy to follow. You shouldn't need a map here to find your way around. The park has lots of huge mature trees so spotting the tee signs is pretty simple. The design itself is very well done for the available space. They did a great job of fitting 18 holes here and using as many of the unique features in the park to create an entertaining layout front to back.
There are tee signs. They contain the bare minimum for info but get the job done. Hole #, distance and par. The main thing is that they're mounted on tall 4x4's so it helps you locate the next pad rather quickly.
The brush off the fairways wasn't too thick so the chance of losing a disc is minimal if you miss the fairway. The park itself was well taken care of and seemed to be very clean.
The course is permanent and free to play.
There's some decent variety here. The front nine is shorter and more open and flat, though not completely in either sense. The back nine is were it really starts to get exciting. Hole 15 is the signature hole. An 855 ft. par 5 that plays probably 350' straight before hooking ninety degrees to the right for the last 400 or so feet with water off to your left for most of that distance. This ones a good get if you can place your shots in a decent position. Hole 17 is a tight uphill gap to the top of the hill with hole 18 being a reverse of 17, just longer. Nice way to finish off the round.
The tee pads are concrete. These are decent sized, level and have great traction. One tee pad per hole. No complaints with these.
The baskets are yellow banded Discatcher Pros. These are all in good shape and catch great. All were mounted level too. One basket and pin position per hole.
The flow of the course is pretty easy to follow. You shouldn't need a map here to find your way around. The park has lots of huge mature trees so spotting the tee signs is pretty simple. The design itself is very well done for the available space. They did a great job of fitting 18 holes here and using as many of the unique features in the park to create an entertaining layout front to back.
There are tee signs. They contain the bare minimum for info but get the job done. Hole #, distance and par. The main thing is that they're mounted on tall 4x4's so it helps you locate the next pad rather quickly.
The brush off the fairways wasn't too thick so the chance of losing a disc is minimal if you miss the fairway. The park itself was well taken care of and seemed to be very clean.
The course is permanent and free to play.
Cons:
There's some turn off spots from the park road up on the top side of the hill by hole 11. There was someone pulled off onto one of these when we played. Forced us to play out wider right than we'd like. Not sure how common these are used but worth noting.
The tee signs aren't really all that helpful. They have the basic info but it would've been nice to have a hole map on a few of them, most notably hole 15.
There's a couple places where you have to backtrack the way you just came from to get to the next tee pad. It get it, there's only so much room here. Just a minor annoyance though.
The gaps for holes 17 and 18 are getting a little bit restricted by the brush on each side. These two gaps could use a bit of a trim to open up the line, especially 17.
The tee signs aren't really all that helpful. They have the basic info but it would've been nice to have a hole map on a few of them, most notably hole 15.
There's a couple places where you have to backtrack the way you just came from to get to the next tee pad. It get it, there's only so much room here. Just a minor annoyance though.
The gaps for holes 17 and 18 are getting a little bit restricted by the brush on each side. These two gaps could use a bit of a trim to open up the line, especially 17.
Other Thoughts:
This was a really fun course. It feels like most courses around the Chicagoland area have unrealistically high ratings on here. This one, while a bit outside of Chicago, is rated about right where it should be. I'd recommend playing this one if you happen to be near here. It won't blow you away but it's just a well rounded, fun course.
