Railroad Park is a short and open 18-hole course designed for new and novice players. The design of this course makes for a great option for learning the game, while having a surprising variety of lines that more skills players will enjoy as well.

Location of Railroad Park is behind the main line of shops in Chesterfield off I-64, between Edison Rd. and, well, a railroad. The park is hidden away behind a line of trees but is accessible from the greenway next to it. Park at the Missouri Greenway lot, and then head east on the greenway along the levee. You'll soon see what looks like a concrete spillway that leads to an opening in the tree line; that's walk through and you're at hole 1. The line of shops and restaurants you'll see when heading to this course has just about every restaurant chain you could ask for, along with gas stations. For course bagging, this course isn't too far from a variety of options, especially the west St. Louis County options like Logan, Schroeder, and Bluebird.

Course Equipment looks to still be in progress, but there is a good amount in place currently. The baskets are Lat64 branded, and the yellow really pops. This may be my first experience with Lat64 baskets, but they catch great. The tee pads are elevated boxes filled with gravel. There's also a practice basket at the entrance of the course right next to the hole 1 tee pad.

Course Design is strongly catered towards newer players, but despite the openness of the property, there is a good amount of variety in terms of what shot shaping will be required of you to get close to the pin off the tee. The course makes the most out of the spotty tree coverage throughout the field to maximize the potential of an 18-hole course at this site.

Shot-shaping was the part of this course that surprised me the most by far. I wasn't expecting to see a lot of variety at this course, but I ended up using just about every putter and midrange in my bag. There are plenty of holes where a RHBH hyzer will be the most comfortable shot, but there are arguably more shots that end to the right that will favor RHFH or LHBH dominant players. Holes 1, 11, and 16 are the holes that play closest to the surrounding woods and rough, and they all curve to the left. Other holes on property, such as 3 and 8, have RHBH flex lines based on the placement of trees in the fairway. This mix of fairway shapes really provide the challenge of throwing different shots while also providing plenty of holes where you can comfortably go with your preferred shot type. There are also a surprising number of tunnel shots given the openness of the course, as many fairways utilize low branches on the large trees in the field to challenge you to keep your drive low.

Distances at Railroad are short, which pairs well with the intended level of difficulty. Most holes are under 300, with holes 4 and 18 being the exceptions. These two holes have pars of 4 and 5 respectively though, keeping them in line with the other holes in terms of difficulty.

Difficulty Level definitely caters to brand new and novice players. This is a course that will provide a good level of difficulty to anyone new to the game that want to work on shot shaping at shorter distances before graduating to longer courses. Intermediate players and up will find this course to be a fun ace-run filled course where they can see how far below par they can get. As an intermediate player, I still found this course to be a lot of fun despite the difficulty level.

Course Equipment leaves something to be desired. The signage is not on site yet, requiring UDisc to navigate the course since many tees and baskets are close enough to each other to make things confusing. Some of the tee boxes have numbering on them, though not all do. Hopefully with signage, flow becomes a lot clearer. The tee boxes also are not my favorite, as they are elevated boxes filled with gravel. The boxes are on the shorter side, and while most of the holes are short, it can still make your run up awkward. The gravel is also not the best option out there. I played this course between rain showers, and the gravel tees had plenty of puddles, making the grass on either side of the boxes preferable to throw from. I imagine I'd feel this way on a dry day as well. Update: Temp signage is in place, which while not perfect should help with any potential confusion with the layout.

Course Flow and Design checks the boxes that the designers had in mind, but there are just a couple spots that that came to mind as potential cons. The holes with baskets closer to the rough and woods like 1, 11, and 16 can punish bad throws more than a beginner course perhaps should, as the rough and wood lines can be pretty thick in this park. Hole 18's pin is also pretty close to the practice basket, though this is the only hole that comes to mind when it comes to a tee or pin being close to another hole to the point that I think it could be a problem on a busy day.

Park Amenities are virtually non-existent, as calling this a park feels misleading in its current state. There aren't any bathrooms or anything else that disc golf shares this land with currently, except for one trash can by the start of the course.

Course Difficulty serves who it intends to, but many more skilled players might find themselves getting bored at this course. If you're an intermediate or advanced player and looking for a challenging course, most other courses in St. Louis will be a better option than this one.

Accessibility is also an issue given that the most convenient parking lot for the course is a quarter mile down the greenway (closer to .4 miles if you don't climb the levee as a shortcut). It's hard to see where a better parking lot option would go given the land surrounding the park, so this is likely to stay this way.

Bugs - While they weren't bad when I played, I have heard consistent complaints about mosquitos and other bugs at this park after rain. I suggest bringing bug spray to this course unless it's the off season, as this has been a consistent complaint on local pages.

Chesterfield's parks and rec website lists this park as "under development", so it'll be interesting to see if other things are added to this park. Disc golf currently takes up the vast majority of the field part of the park, so it's hard to see what else will reasonably fit in this plot of land unless the disc golf course is redesigned later on. Time will tell if any of those possibilities become a reality.

Overall, this is a fantastic beginner level course, making it a great addition to the St. Louis area. I can't think of another course nearby that combines the level of skill required to hit the intended lines of each fairway with the lack of opportunities to lose a disc that Railroad has, other than perhaps Laurel Park in St. Peters or T. R. Hughes in O'Fallon (check my review to see how I feel about this course. It's not positive). Railroad is a great option to introduce family and friends to the game and can make for a very quick round for more experienced players with not a lot of time to play. My friend and I were able to knock this course out in under an hour in rainy conditions with ease, and if I was solo, I think this course would play at or under 40 minutes.

If you're a newer player in the area, this is a great option that I recommend checking out. There are many other St. Louis courses I'd recommend before this one to course baggers, but if you are looking for an easily accessible course driving along 64, this one is hard to beat. Railroad is a great beginner option for the area, and hopefully it continues to improve overtime.