+ Mostly concrete tee pads, with enough room for a bit of a run-up.

+ Strong usage of available landscape for throwing lines, obstacles, and very good pin placement.

+ Variety of shots required for any type of player; big arms only need not apply.

+ Tee signs with potential hole positions and distances.

+ A couple of signs pointing in direction of the next hole.

+ Trash receptacles at most tee pads (be tidy, kids).

+ Some wooden benches, stumps, or blocks for resting while someone throws.

+ Usually plenty of parking available by hole 1, just make sure there isn't some event occurring that day!

+ Orange painted baskets for added visibility in all of that foliage.

+ Practice basket just near tee 1.

- Thick foliage in most of the front nine, in addition to a handful of holes on the back nine, make for instant punishment for a shanked toss.

- The current holes 12 (~450' with a mando right dogleg) and 13 (thick foliage to the right, water to the left). These were forced to be redone due to the demolition of a campus building, and are the best implementation as available, but are located in heavily wooded areas and along a creek. 12 especially may require a spotter, otherwise you may want to forgo these holes.

- As this is on a private university, restrooms and a water fountain are not always accessible. Use the restroom before coming, and bring plenty of water.

- Inconsistent course maintenance. Some holes (see: front nine) have some overgrowth which could easily be taken care of in a day or two with some volunteers.

I've been playing this course since it was originally established as a 9-hole (the current-ish back nine) and seeing the wear and evolution over the years has been interesting to watch. If a group were to get out and assist with foliage removal, this course could really shine. Definitely 4/5 potential.

As touched upon in the "Pros" section, you will need all of the tricks in your arsenal to have a successful round at RU. Bring your understables, something that rolls well, and some BRIGHT discs to clash against the green and dark wooded areas. Would also highly recommend not to play alone, or at the very least to bring a spotter. Bug spray and towel HIGHLY recommended.

As of the 2017 season, the hole 1 sign notes that players are using the course at their own risk, no alcohol is allowed, and that if one were to play after dusk (baskets have solar LED strips wrapping the top, never used them) that Rockford University persons must accompany them. Take these into account before playing.

Two holes that really stand out have complete opposite approaches: 15 and 18. 15 is the shortest hole on the course at 163', with an incredibly gorgeous view directly through a row of trees. Pull out the putter or mid-range, rip it through, and hit some chains. 18 is the longest hole at around the 500' mark depending on pin placement, but with a series of fully bloomed trees directly in your pathway. It's listed as a par 5, but even without a big arm it can be done in less, giving you a chance to peer upon the open hill and field near the tennis courts and football field.

*Nice mix of wooded and open holes
*Hole 2 is an awesome downhill drive, just look out for cars on the road below
*Baskets in good condition and bright orange
*Tee sign descriptions serve their purpose
*Course has a nice flow to it
*Baskets well placed to fit the landscape

*The course needs cleaning. Lots of trash and full garbage cans need to be emptied.
*Hole 13 is missing due to some sort of campus construction. Needs a sign telling players the hole has been removed.
*A few holes are missing tee pads
*no bathroom facilities dedicated to the course

Located on a private college campus this course adds a mix of open and wooded holes to challenge a well rounded player. Skilled shots are needed on many of the holes and this sure beats your typical public park course.

A missing hole and a dirty course brought this one down a few points for me. Fix those issues and I'd give it a solid 4

I live in town and if I'm not day tripping to other chicagoland courses I definitley make it a point to stop here or anna page.
Play the course during the spring or fall semesters and there are college GIRLS all over campus

Front 9 are new with great baskets (tees are rubber/carpet for the moment, sounds like there's plans to put concrete pads in soon). Back 9 are older, concrete pads, well constructed. Very interesting shots, overall. Hole 1 shoots from one hill to another, Hole 2 shoots over a roadway but very downhill. Hole 3 has been temporarily moved to work around summer brush. Holes 4-8 are good in the woods, some narrow fairways requiring skill. Back 9 play through the campus with tricky shots.
Signage is great, be sure to pay attention

Wooded holes are very wooded. Difficult to find stray discs. I've lost 3 in one season. Definitely not a forgiving course for stray discs.
Difficult to find a way from some holes (particularly 9-10)

Overall a decent course, but Anna Page is WAY better. Good for a quick round, just keep your discs in play.

Rockford College is a beautiful campus and the disc golf course seems to fit in seamlessly. Although the distances seem short, most of the holes are up-hill or the baskets can't be seen from the tee. Each of the tees has a map that shows where the next hole is from the basket - pay attention to these.
The baskets themselves are the best I've ever seen. Bright orange baskets and tops. Some of them look like they have solar powered LED lights on them for night play.
Hole 7 has an elevated basket - the basket bottom is about 6' off the ground, very cool!

I decided to skip hole #3. It was basically straight uphill of very deep rough. I was playing by myself and did not want to spend forever looking for my driver. They really need to carve a fairway up the hill to make this more playable. (Holes 4 and 5 were carved right out of the woods, so I don't see why this would be a problem).
There's quite a distance between several of the holes, 5-6, 8-9, and 9-10 especially. If you didn't pay close attention at your tee shot, there's no other signage to point you in the right direction.
There's several holes where you can't see the basket from the tee. Although this adds to the challenge, it felt like an annoying recurring theme.
Tee pads are just rubber on the front nine (but concrete on the back).

Many of the holes had garbage cans and places to sit at near the tees and baskets. However, I noticed quite a few beer bottles and cans on the front nine (mostly in the cans, but it was. I know it's a college campus, but I don't really want to go to a course when I know people are drinking while playing. Save that kind of thing for after the round...
All in all, great course I would recommend for all skill levels. I will definitely play again when I have time in Rockford.

back 9 is awesome.
great holes,thoroughly thought out.
baskets are in great shape.
leds on the basket are also nice.
scorecards provided.
1 and 2 probably my favorite holes but there are a lot of nice ones here.

Some holes play close to dorm rooms.buddy hit one on number 2
Some holes play very close to roadways which either beats up your disc or potentially is takin out a car.
Friend almost hit the security car,thank god for a tree.

Awesome course,goes with anna page on my top courses in this area,definately worth checking out

Very nice course. Good signage with easy to spot bright orange baskets. The course is well laid out, and easy to follow. Nice well kept campus grounds. Just challenging enough to make you think about some of your shots. Should be a beautiful course to play in the summer.

There wasn't much activity on the day I played but I can see how it could easily become distractive. It was also odd that one hole played across the campus road. These weren't major cons just something to be aware of.

Not sure how late your allowed to play the course. Would like to find out if its alright to play the course at anytime of the night. If there is enough lighting. I liked the fact that at Hole 1 there was a box with score cards available, that was a nice touch.

Quite technical in some areas. Clearly plenty of logical thought was put into the design of this particular course. There is a relatively wide range of distance here, ranging from 163 to 508 feet. At first I wasn't impressed with the launch pads being as small as they are but they're fitting for how short/long each hole actually is. AND I heard they are getting the pads extended soon anyway.

Plays right over,around and through the dorms. Constant student traffic slow the game down a bit at times. Bass thumping from several dorms. Two buildings are way to close to the basket of hole 2. You'll see. My good buddy hit the glass window(east building,second floor) pane on hole two. Luckily it didn't break and go into the dorm room. Otherwise he's have had to throw from that second flood room for his second shot!

I wanna play this course on move-in day next spring Seriously this course is a LOT of fun. If your in the Rockford area to play page or where ever, you definitely need to go out of your way to try this place out.