Roger, Roger.

Rogers Lakewood Park provides both a solid round of disc golf and a solid hike. With 24 holes (plus 3 extras) and hilly terrain, this isn't your everyday walk in the park. RLW proves that there is more than corn in Indiana. Most holes have multiple pin locations (one basket per hole) and a few have multiple tees. Some of those alternate pin locations add a full throw to the length/difficulty as compared to the shorter placements. The course was in all longs when we played, with a few challenging, wooded, multithrow holes.

The course opens up with a water carry with plenty of bailout room and then proceeds into the woods for a couple of holes. The next two holes bring a large clearing into play, but finish and start in the woods respectively (the long placement on 3 is another 110'ish down a reasonably wide corridor into the woods from the short; tee for 4 is tucked just into the woodline). The course returns to the woods after 4 and more elevation comes into play. We stay largely in the woods with reasonably wide (but still demanding) fairways through hole 13. After finishing 13, you come out of the woods to see the tees for 14 and 17 in a largely open grassy park. Hole 14 is excellent. It clocks in at just under 600', with the first half open and significantly downhill and the second half down a dogleg right with a slight left finish. The drive is a great chance to open up and rip one downhill, but placement is still important. A RHBH shot that hyzers out will likely fade waaaaay left of the ideal landing spot. This will not only increase the length of the second throw, but prevent the player from throwing a one angle shot to the green (2nd half of the fariway is plenty wide, but bordered by tall trees). Hole 15 is pretty much flat, but the tee shot forces you to pick a gap and hit it. Hole 16 throws over a cattail marsh for 200' or so and then goes up a steep grassy hill. The cattails are easy to clear, but the right side is bordered with thick shule. Hole 17 is a fairly tough 3 for most players in the shorter 2 positions and a good par 4 in the long. For the RHBH player, first shot is a fairly stock hyzer (with trouble to be found). From there you're either (hopefully) putting on the short positions or throwing a potentially challenging second shot to the long. Challenge on the second throw is provided by the fairly narrow wooded fairway and the quick 5'ish drop to a lower tier, close to the left of the basket. The remainder of the course is largely made up of par 3s with grassy fairways and bordered by mature trees and fairly thick shule. Some of these holes are very good and some are average. The final hole features a suspended basket beneath a wooden arbor, but instead of the basket hanging from a chain, the pole goes upwards to a bracket on the wooden crossbar.

I really enjoyed this course. It was plenty challenging for my (white) skill level and there were only a couple of lines that felt unfair. Elevation is put to great use here. Ups and downs both minor and significant are present on the majority of the holes. The course seems aimed at white/blue level players and does a good job of providing challenge and scoring opportunity for those players. The course features a mix of left and right turning shots (some one angle, some encouraging a flex or hyzer flip play).

While mostly in the woods, if you keep it in the fairway, you'll play mostly on grass. For a mostly wooded course, this is really nice. Of course, this is more true of the fairways than the greens (browns?).

Navigation is easy. We didn't use Udisc and barely looked at the nice course map kiosk on the way to hole 1 and didn't have a problem until 17/18 (see cons).

We have clearance, Clarence.

Many tees are good-sized, level concrete. Also present are paver, rubber, and undersized concrete tees. Hole 1 (water carry), 14 (big downhill bomb), and 16 (marsh clear to steep uphill) all feature appropriately sized concrete tees. When there is a less than ideal tee surface, it's usually on a shorter hole.

Signs feature a fairly basic map with distances, intended flightlines, and each basket marked with an X. Not sure why the postions didn't get different letters. There's no indication on the signs as to which pin is in use either. In most (but not all) cases, if you can't see the basket from the tee, it's in the long position

The three "letter" holes (X, Y, & Z), are supposed to be accessed after 9. We totally missed this and only realized they existed when we'd holed out on 17 and were looking for 18 (only an issue with 17 long, the transition would be obvious from the shorter placements).

The course is showing some signs of erosion/traffic damage (especially around baskets).

What's our vector, Victor?

I don't know how often pin positions are switched up, but the other collars we saw looked clean. It was encouraging to see that the course was in all longs as this requires significantly more mowing/upkeep for a handful of holes. The operators would be saving themselves a not insignificant amount of labor and gas if they chose to only use short and mid positions.

This course has been in the ground for more than 20 years. In some places, underbrush appears to have expanded well beyond what was present at the time of the original design. It's up to you dear reader, to make up your mind if that's a pro or a con.

This course is about an hour from where I live (assuming favorable traffic) and somehow I'm only just playing it now. Not sure how that (didn't) happenm, but glad it finally did and I plan to be back. As long as my skills don't improve (ha!) or degrade too much, this course really hits my sweet spot for fun/challenge. If I had played and reviewed this course 10-15 years ago, I would have given it at 4.5. Now, RLW is a very strong 4 in my book.

This course is in a multiuse park with many other amenities. The disc golf course stays away from other activities for the most part. A walking/biking trail comes into play on some holes but that's about it. Even that would seem to need a bad kick to really be in play. There is a mix of concrete, brick and rubber tee pads, with most being concrete. All of these are good sized and have nice footing. No problems with them on a wet June afternoon. One tee location per hole but many holes have multiple pin locations. There are benches and nice posts by a lot of the holes. The posts have hooks to hang bags from which is always a bonus. The signs are a bit worn but are serviceable for the most part. They show a basic hole layout, hole number, distances and all (I believe) pin placements. It has the next hole number which is very helpful. The baskets are DISCatchers that caught fine and stand out nicely in the woods. 24 holes here, This course will test every shot in your bag. Lots of elevation comes into play adding to the difficulty. There is a solid mix of tight, technical wooded holes, wide open up and downhill bombs and some standard city park like holes sprinkled throughout. Hole 24's basket is elevated, kind of. It's unique but strange in that it doesn't add much for challenge. Looks nice though. Water comes into play on the first 2 holes in the form of a small pond. There's a pro shop by the parking lot, which unfortunately wasn't open on the Sunday I was there, but is awesome to have anyway. Plan on a few hours minimum to play this. It took me and my wife over 2 hours to play and we generally play pretty fast.

As mentioned earlier $8 a day is very steep to play, but it is by vehicle not person so if you go with more than one person it's more tolerable, but that's expensive for a single non local player. The rough is brutal in some spots. I mean it's not the worst I've seen by any means but be sure to watch carefully where you threw or you could be searching for awhile. The flow is a little tricky in a couple spots but nothing too hard to figure out. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the course is appealing to the eye but the old cracked park roads are an eyesore. And I think it was 19, one serves as the majority of your fairway. Kind of odd I guess. As I mentioned above the signs aren't in great shape. Some are pretty good but some are hardly readable anymore.

This is a very fun but very challenging course for sure. Definitely not a beginner course. This course is clearly designed for advanced to at least intermediate players. It is definitely worth a round or two if you're anywhere nearby. I've been waiting to play this one for awhile and was not disappointed. You can tell that a lot of love goes into this place, kudos to the guys doing the dirty work, It shows. Excellent course.

hole 1 sets the tone with a pond shot, not over the top hard but its a good size one . lots of good hills n woods to play threw. shot selection chainges up well a few open shots on 14 threw 16, 14 is a 590 ft down hill. looks like that hole on the Toboggan course that they always film people teeing off on the USDGC footage. this course also has some of the nastyest ruff [thorn bushes with vines growing in them] or thorny trees on the dogleg of 17 that grab your disc better than a cedar tree. hole 24 has a really sweet top mounted hanging basket .they are the old disc catchers with the bar stamp .classy cool .glad to see them honestly even being old you just don't see them too often

the park upkeep is week in general ,skate park is in the worst shape ,does not seem the park dept cares enough ,wonder where the 7 bucks i pay to play there [to valpo parks] goes

great stop if your coming back on 90 and its getting close to rush hour and you do not want to spend hours in Chicago trafific .

Baskets are all in good shape and of a good caliber.
Mostly paver tee pads (with some exception) that are all level and have good grip.
Easy to navigate.
Signage is adequate.
Huge multiuse park that is very well maintained and has lots to offer, yet the course seems to mostly stray away from other activities. And yet there is easy parking, bathrooms, and a water fountain because of this.
Great elevation changes and fun shot shaping requirements with a few open holes to really air out some distance.
Some risk reward is definitely an element here, but maybe not quite as much as you would think. A lot of the fairways open up more than you initially think and is harder to get into the rough than it would appear from the tee pad. Still need good shots for sure though.

Rough can be kind of gnarly, but like I said, it's harder to get in there than it looks.
A couple of the holes seemed kind of boring. I like to have a couple open holes, but holes 4 and 5 just seemed open to be open and you literally play back and forth across a field.
The skate park could be at risk on a couple really bad throws.
A couple of gimmicky like features (that I really didn't mind, but in general am not a fan of).

This course with a little refresh to some of the more modernized courses could be really high up there. It's a beautiful stroll through the park and clearly has a good grounds crew looking after it.

I very much enjoyed the giant downhill 14 throw that required you not to go too far or flip your disc over too much. And I really liked the variety of topography used. The Anny over the valley across smaller shruby trees. Just really fun, beautiful golf. Can't ask for much more than that.

I played the "Dominator Layout" at this course, which combines a few of the holes from the standard layout to make for a super tough 21 hole course. I was able to see/walk the standard 24 hole layout. Here are the "pros":

• Very challenging and rewarding golf. Every hole is a physical and mental test and the course forces you to throw every shot you have. There are several holes that force you to have good shots from start to finish. Even on a good drive you will need to throw controlled upshots and putts. This is a nice change of pace from many courses where a good drive means either an easy two or a drop in three.

• Elevation is a huge factor on this course. Almost every hole has some element of elevation

• Hanging basket on hole 24 (21 on dominator layout) with a steep drop-off behind made for a great risk/reward opportunity

• Hole 14 is an amazing 590 ft. dogleg right down a HUGE hill. Heavy woods on the right preventing an easy hyzer. If I hadn't been playing a tournament round I probably would have thrown three or four discs off this one.

• Navigation was smooth, there was a practice basket before hole 1, and the giant park had nice bathrooms (well, nice for a park anyway). There is plenty of parking, a climbing wall, and lots of other fun things to do.

• The biggest con of the course is safety. The disc golf here interacts heavily with the surrounding park, causing interference from bikers, cars, skateboarders, etc. One hole even calls for a throw over a skate park. There are a lot of fairways that are close enough to other holes to create potential for injury.

• The teepads here are okay, but are in somewhat rough condition

• Not a beginner friendly course, even in the regular layout.

If the rest of the park was closed and the only thing happening at Rogers Lakewood was disc golf then there would be no reason to give this course less than a 4.5... but that will never be the case. The hazards on the course take away from a delightfully challenging round. Even so, I highly recommend this course to any serious golfer travelling through the Valparaiso area.

To me, Valpo is like Rush. I know Rush is a great band with great musicianship and from time to time I'll find myself enjoying "Spirit of Radio" or "Red Barchetta," but for the most part it's lost on me. I saw them in concert with a buddy who was having a near-religious experience; I was having an OK time but by the end I was bored. I don't think I'm the Rush target audience.

To get back to disc golf: Valpo is a fantastic disc golf course. It has good variety in distances, lots of uphill and downhill shots, really thick shule to punish errant shots, aggressive left and right pin placements to force you to use a variety of shots off the tee (plus the bag of trick shots you will need if you get off the fairway) a few open "let 'er rip" shots...If you are a serious player, this should be your course. Other than a couple of gimmicky holes (#2 and #19) the holes seem well designed. The course has good tees, good baskets, adequate signage, good flow...all the elements of good, tough golf are there. The group of guys who work on this course are serious about their golf, so the pin placements seem to be set farther and farther back as time goes on, making the course stay tough as discs have gotten longer. If what you like is tough golf, read no further. Valpo is your course and you should make sure to hit this one up. Shot for shot, I can't really complain at all about this course.

Now I'm going to complain...

I was charged $8 at the gate. $8 for disc golf is out of my comfort zone.

The park is overgrown with old decaying roads and some of the most humongous poison ivy you will see growing anywhere. It's not a pretty park by any stretch of the imagination. It really doesn't hurt the golf; the fairways are mowed and the overgrown shule makes the course play harder. However, I paid $8. For $8 I want Channahon-pretty. Valpo is not Channahon-pretty.

The course has two "meh" holes, #2 has a skate park fence to the left and #19 has a park road for a fairway. Both of them look like the designer just couldn't figure out how to get you to the next hole without sticking in a filler hole. For $8, I expect more than filler holes.

The course is 24 holes. For a rec player, the course is a brutal beat-down of lost discs and 7's on the scorecard. Once I finish the long uphill shot at 16, I'm pretty much done. At 19 you are back close to the parking lot, but I had five holes to go and I paid $8 so I went through the motions of five joyless holes of disc golf just wanting to get the Hell out of there. I'd actually like this course more if it didn't have those extra holes. The holes up at the front of the park end up with kids from picnics running across the fairway, so it doesn't even seem like a good place to have those holes anyway.

All of these things would not be worth mentioning, except...dude, they charged me $8. I was expecting $5. $6 I could live with. $8 really, really pissed me off right from the get go.

In the end, I'm not the Valpo target audience. The course is very challenging, physically demanding and mentally draining. I'm not that kind of golfer anymore. I'm too old, my knees are too wobbly and my game is too weak to hang in here. The park itself is too overgrown for me to really enjoy, so by the end I'm just hoping for it to all end soon. All of which doesn't mean all that much; I've rated it highly because it deserves to be rated highly. It's a very good disc golf course that I'm pretty sure most players will enjoy. That I really don't enjoy it says more about the level of my game than it does about the course. It's a very good disc golf course that I don't happen to like.

Mostly because they charged me $8. I'm really cheap and that ticked me off. A lot. I didn't even get a kiss.

Maybe on another day I will see the light; I find myself jamming out to Rush every now and again.

1. Variety. While there tends to be an emphasis on RHFH/RHBH anhyzer shots (writing as a predominantly RHBH thrower), I found myself throwing everything but rollers or overhand shots, which together probably comprise less than 2% of my shots anyways. The glacial terrain in this part of the state means plenty of topographical variety, and it is well utilized in the design, with uphill, downhill, cross-hill, valley, and hump shots. The first two holes feature water, #1 with a carry over a decent-sized pond but plenty of bailout to the left for the majority of players (the risk here, at least with the long pin, is deciding to go for it, which appears to require a late-fading RHBH anhyzer over the water with plenty of trees to the right to knock you into the drink if you cut too hard - thus, the only "pucker factor" you experience here will be self-induced on choosing to go for it since it's not really a big forced carry), and #2 is another RHFH-friendly shot through tight woods just over 200' to a slightly elevated pin a few feet from the same pond - that is definitely a hell of a way to kick off a round, with very reasonable holes (distance-wise) that present big opportunities with big risk! Hole #3 (Dominator) was a monster hole that combined classic holes #3 and #4 into a hole requiring power and strategy - uphill blind placement shot off the tee followed by another BIG placement shot across a field into a right-curving (of course!) wooded corridor. Several of the holes in the Dominator configuration felt Toboggan-esque, specifically #12 and #13. I loved seeing #7, a RHBH hyzer around a grove of trees with a little pond (puddle?) that was blind from the tee (and thus completely unbeknownst to me, a traveling solo player), which kind of reminded me of a miniature Blueberry Hill #13. In the Dominator layout there were a lot of OB roads marked, but I'm not sure if those apply to the classic layout; in any case, they added another layer of difficulty to a number of holes. The finishing hole, #18/24, is a unique suspended basket that would seem gimmicky, but with the steep drop-off directly behind the basket you definitely think twice about your layup shot, as there is nothing to stop you from skipping and sailing underneath the basket into potential yuckiness. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the Dominator layout was the requirement for placement shots on the really long hybrid holes...that shows either great foresight in the design or great improvisation with the existing design (which I think is more likely with the propensity for locals to play safari and discover these routes).

2. Maintenance. This appears to be a pretty popular multiuse park with fishing, hiking/walking, party pavilions, fishing, and even a little rock-climbing wall, but overall the course and other park areas I saw were pretty clean. The fairways were mowed, and while plenty of thick rough abounds, you will often find walking trails cutting through even the densest foliage. Trash cans were abundant, and litter was not.

3. Equipment. The DISCatchers are in decent shape but a little dated (i.e. the kind where a fluke DROT can drop through, and wouldn't you know it I did just this during my round!); the tees, while varied, are all pretty level and don't present any major hazards; there's a beat-up little clubhouse near a beat-up practice basket with "Round 9" putting practice bricks in the ground ("beat-up" being a good thing as it signifies long and constant use, meaning a solid base of DG in the community); the tee signs are descriptive with color maps, accurate distances, and OB marked; bag hooks are available at some tees, always nice; long poles sticking up from the baskets on some blind holes aided tee shots. The course is pay-to-play from Memorial Day through Labor Day, so I assume that some of that money goes into the upkeep - and I hope that with Worlds coming nearby soon, not to mention the increasing popularity of the sport, this course will be upgraded in the near future.

4. Location. Not far off I-80/90. Really easy to find in a well-marked park, plenty of signs from nearby highways direct to this park, and signage once in the park directs you to the disc golf course and eventually the practice basket and hole #1. Several parking lots should ease congestion on busy days.

5. Navigation. Pretty intuitive, though I did experience a few hang-ups playing the Dominator layout (see Cons). There is a large colorful course map at the start that one can easily snap a photo of with a smartphone and use in the absence of a hard copy, and even the tee signs indicate adjacent pins/tees.

6. Pay to play. Some consider this a con, but I certainly do not, especially with the usage some of our courses get these days. A modest fee is totally understandable, especially if other park patrons in a multiuse facility are being likewise charged as is the case here from what I understand.

1. Tees. While many are just fine as far as being level, there is a bit too much inconsistency here as far as size and texture that I just couldn't ignore, as much as I wanted to overlook it. Brick, concrete, rubber, blacktop, some bordered with timber, one sinking at the back right corner, one too short with insufficient follow-through space...frankly, I was kind of amazed that a State Finals would be held here without first improving these, and I almost wonder if this course would have been included in the upcoming Worlds with better tees (but that's beside the point!).

2. Safety. As noted above, a few holes play close to OB roads, which for the most part are just paved walking paths that didn't seem to be really busy. However, one major issue I noted (at least in this layout) was #17 (#23?), which played not only with the busy park entrance road directly to the right, but plays OVER an intersection of this same entrance road on the approach to the pin, and there was some event going on in the hilltop pavilion, so plenty of traffic was coming to and fro while I tried to make my approach across this road to what admittedly is a very tricky pin location. The walking path near the first and last holes seemed to be the busiest. One other possible conflict would be with the skate park near hole #2, which really would take a bad shot, but if a new player is already bad under pressure and pulls the classic "noob hyzer" it could spell trouble.

3. Navigation. Maybe it was just the Dominator layout combined with first-timerism, but I got a little confused, most notably at #3 - I noticed the sign saying it was a big 700-some-footer to #4's basket, which of course didn't help me at all, so I walked up the hill and saw one basket to my left in a field, figured that was the "classic" pin, and then walked farther to the left and spotted the basket indicated on the sign. I went back and played the hole as I thought it should be played, but then had trouble finding #4's tee, which would have been #5 in the classic layout and playing to the basket I originally spotted and mistook for #3 (this sounds confusing, I know, but hopefully a local or two will understand my frustration at this junction)...I again backtracked #3's fairway to make sure I hadn't played wrong, then eventually figured it all out. Another area was after holing out on #9 and then finding #10, where again I did a little wandering around.

4. Equipment. Again as noted above, the DISCatchers are a bit old though they still catch just fine (my only real issue, which I might have not noticed if it hadn't happened, was the DROT falling through).

This was a great course to play, and I definitely look forward to coming back and updating my review based on the 24-hole layout (which was what I came here expecting to play and was rather surprised by the Dominator layout, but still thoroughly enjoyed myself). I think with the bonus holes added and some of the length removed (and thus fun factor added back in for a player like myself), I will have an experience closer to what I expect from a 4.5-rated course. As it stands, the golf on this layout, while incredibly challenging and scenic, rates just under that, and compared to other courses I've played I think it's closer to a 4.0. I am confident that the 4.5 rating is there, but I will just have to experience the full thing in order to rate it as such. In any case, the 4.0 is still a really high rating, and I highly recommend this course to anyone traveling through. Even shortened to its classic layout, I can see some of the holes being a bit daunting to the beginner, so it's not necessarily an everyman's course, but if you're local and you're going to start learning the sport, this would be a phenomenal place to hone your skills.

I give Rogers Lakewood a 4. I would give it a 5, but the rough is unnecessarily killer at this time of the year and it's a beating if you have an errant throw and there are definitely improvements to be made with the tees..

Like the other reviewers stated - there is plenty of variety to please most golfers. Not going to get into a whole course breakdown, but here are some of the holes and touches that I like and notes on others.

- Hole 1 is in a good starting spot right by the lower parking lot. Problem is that this lot gets real full with a shelter close by, a boat launch, people fishing and disc golfers. Hole 1 parking usually stays shady in the afternoon, but parking is better at hole 2 (skate park) and hole 17 at the top of the hill.

Leagues, maybe still do, but I don't know - usually parked at the top of the hill by 17 and started from there. If you have a large group you can split and start at 17 and 14 since the tees are back to back at the top of the hill by the parking lot.

Holes 2,3,4,5 are pretty straight forward - rough starts to show some teeth on the uphill 3. Hitting a tree and having it kick back into the woods is a fairly common occurrence. 4 and 5 are long but straight.

Hole 6 is probably the beginning of the bad rough and the first place you'll probably most likely lose a disc - use a spotter if possible and definitely try the 'Pro' route of a huge hyzer over the trees.

Holes 11, 12 and 13 make use of some space that was *horrendous* rough in the past while adding some nice variety to the beginning of the back 9. Being that they opened up the rough over here - the huge downhill hole 14 is a little easier to 'give it your all' and not have to worry about losing your favorite disc. 14 still has some dense rough at the bottom right of the hill so try to stay away from there but deeper in and you'll probably end up on either 12 or 13 fairways.

17 is the other hole where having a spotter is a good idea - the rough on the left hand side - over the road is thick.

If you get out early, you can pretty much have the course to yourself. It's pretty quiet once you are out past hole 2. You probably won't run into other people than disc golfers till 19.

If no one is using the shelter at the top of the hill by 17 - it's a good place for field practice. You can use the service road as a tee since it's paved. There are some decent landmarks for estimating distance. It's 370' to the skate park road from the corner of the basketball court and 400' to the 19 tee sign.

Course is fairly easy to navigate - first place that's not obvious at first is 10->11 since you have to backtrack a little down 10 fairway, but it's obvious when you see it. There is a walking path by 10 basket that might confuse someone if they are not paying attention.

Also 23->24 is a little odd - it used to go from 20->24 which was (holes 17->18) when the course was 18 holes so the tee for 24 is near the basket for 20. If you don't look over the road you might miss 21.

The course is clean and there are plenty of trash cans at the tees, there are bag hooks, nice signage.Some of the signs need to be replaced.

Tees can be a pro and a con here - the short tees aren't well marked. There are some red landscape timbers that are buried in the fairways for some of the holes but they are well worn. Some tees are really nice brick and others are wood (spongy on 10) covered in rubber.The nice tees are the pro and the shorts and the wood ones are the cons. 7 has an Am tee that's fairly nice since the Am tee used to be the only tee on 7.

A long time ago - 4 and 5 used to have the entire clearing mowed. This opened a bunch of roller routes and made people pull out all their tricks since the wide open space was very forgiving. I kind of wish they would try this again.

A lot of the holes seem to have not gotten the maintenance that they used to get. The 4 and 5 example above is one instance. Perhaps that was intentional. Hole 8 used to have a pond that's just a dried pit now. It really made 8 a nice looking hole.

Have to be careful on 21, there is a shelter by the basket that people rent out and park on the fairway for 21 if it's a large enough group. There is a clear straight route to the right though if you need to avoid some cars.

Hole 19 is downhill, straight at the skate park parking lot. Cars have been hit in the past.

My rating on this is biased - this is pretty much my home course. This is where I really started getting into DG. I had played for years before, but would never have called myself a disc golfer. I am somewhat spoiled since it is such a nice course. PNC is the only closer course, but it's not as nice.

It's hard to review this course, it's changed a lot from when I first started playing it and I know it'll probably change some more, but I'm excited to see what goes on here. And will keep coming back.

The entrance fee is $7 for out of county residents. You can exit and re-enter the park, but ask for a pass at the front gate before you leave.

I don't believe there is any place on site to get any refreshments and it's a long course. Bring plenty.

Park also doesn't seem to mind beer consumption although they post on their website that it's discouraged but from experience, they don't care.

Dogs are allowed on leashes.

There are some walking trails that make use of the woods where the rough is around 4-10 and 17-19.

This course has some excellent terrain which includes rolling hills, water, woods, and thick rough. There is a really good mix of holes on this course. It's one of those courses that all skill levels are going to like playing.

I was really impressed with the work done on this course since the last time I played there. The tee pads used to be really awful and this was an average course.

There are some really memorable holes on this course. It starts with #1 throwing across the water. Hole #14 is a monster downhill hole that you won't forget. #19 is another fun downhill shot with an island green. Playing all roads out of bounds makes this hole great! Hole #22 has a nice built up elevated green. You finish and Hole #24 has a frame with a sweet haning basket that makes a nice death putt to finish.

More golf is always better. 24 holes on this property.

Tee signs are solid with distances and showing both pin locations.

The baskets are Innova Dicatchers that have inner chains that have been modified. They catch just fine.

Distinct tee pads that are mostly concrete or brick.

The one big issue I have are the tee pads. Some of the tee pads are short and uneven. Some have steps up that cannot be approached from behind. One tee is rubber. Every tee pad seems to be different. Some are short.

There is a ton of poison ivy on this course. Protect yourself!

Check the official website. There are a ton of other activities at the park.
http://ci.valparaiso.in.us/index.aspx?NID=633

This diverse 24 hole course has superb variety and a something for everyone. It's starts out with a couple shots with the lake in play, there are numerous elevation changes some of which are quite large, there are plenty of wooded holes ranging from lightly wooded to heavily wooded and everything in between, the variety of hole length is quite dramatic, and there are ob roads that come into play on a few holes. The shot variety is excellent with a seemingly even balance of hyper, straight and anhyzer shots.

The vast majority of the holes really make you work for your birdie and a few have good risk/reward.

The course has benches and bag racks on nearly every hole and two basket placements on many of the holes. Tee signs list the distance to each placement and have a nice accurate hole diagram. Some of the basket placements take advantage of elevation changes to make some tough putting greens.

There are a number of other cool and unique features on the course like the arched tree you have to throw under on hole 12, the cool tee pad map on hole 18 and the hanging basket on hole 24.

The tee pads are widely inconsistent with some concrete, others are brick and some are rubber. A couple of them gave me problems, but for the most part they did their job just fine.

A few of the baskets are showing their age but it looks like the club has made some upgrades to them and seem to catch just fine which is the important thing.

The ground was muddy and wet in areas but I believe it had rained recently before my trip so that is to be expected.

It can be a bit tricky to find the start of the course. There are tons of signs pointing you in different directions as you enter the park, but none point you towards the disc golf course.

Overall this is an excellent course that's tons of fun! I highly recommend stopping here for a round.

I was wanted to rate this course a 4.5 because the fun factor is very high and it has 24 quality holes, but the tee pads and complete lack of pro par 4's remind me it should be rated a 4.

This is a large course with every type of hole you can imagine. most holes are deep in the park free from most contact with other park visitors. over the years the course designers have been cutting back the brush making it easier to play almost all year round. you only have to play to play from Memorial Day to Labor day.

could use a bit more trimming back of the brush on some holes. water does come into play on some holes mainly on holes 1 and 2, hole 24 but only if it rolls down hill past the basket. this course can get a bit leafy in the summer best if played early spring or late fall, very easy to lose a disc if your a beginner.

this is my home course, i have played it dozens if times. the course is the best its ever been since i started playing it. could use a little grooming on a few holes.

Aesthetic- Beautiful course, integrates water and winds through thick old growth woods. Impressive vistas throughout

Teepads- Will be in pros and cons- Most of the teepads that were bricked were super nice. Of good length and generally oriented well.

Signs/Nav- Nav was relatively easy. There were a few holes that did require guidance because the next hole wasn't evident. Some baskets had "Next Tee" written on them.

Baskets- again, pros and cons here. Most of the baskets seemed to be M-14's with nice deep baskets and double chains. Powdercoating on the innerchains made the baskets highly visible.

Challenge- Holy Challenging. This course will challenge EVERY shot in your bag... A lot of turn-overs, hard anny's and hyzers, water, woods, hills, elevation.

Special Mention- Elevation--Best use of elevation that I've seen in a while. there is a TON of risk/reward here with the water and woods, not to mention a ton of "rollaway" potential

Special Mention- Uniqueness- From throwing from a TeePad in the middle of the road under a tree arch, to elevated pins, to suspended pins, protected baskets, blind throws, you are never left bored...

TeePads- there is one pad that is bordered with 2x4's but is sunken, and very slick. The variety of teepads here is a bit wonky. Some of the teepads are "flypaper" and can be uneven, even mushy with the wood underneat not having support underneath.

Baskets- The variety is a bit wonky as well. there are some different baskets here have more shallow baskets than others. I find positives and negatives with the yellow inner chains, it makes the baskets more visible but the ring that holds the inner chains seems bigger than normal which makes bounce outs more common. just my opinion.

Uncontrollables- Trees/schule- THICK at times, great others. nothing can be done about this.

This is a Great course, I was thoroughly impressed. We went down to Indiana to play with Jukeshoe and he was a more than gracious host and guide! We made the right decision to hit up RLW and will most certianly be back...

Sweet Monkey Gods is this a great course! However, be prepared to be worn out, beaten, sucked dry and spit back out. This is a course for big boys. Quick list of what I liked, and then a more detailed breakdown in other thoughts.

24 holes.
Amazing Elevation.
Championship Caliber course.
Amazing park.
Great tee pads.

It's Three hours from my house.

Hole 1 plays sort of over the water, It shouldn't come in to play, but I saw a couple of folks pansy out and toss one in the drink. Really, you shouldn't drown one here. But if the bigness of the course gets in your dome, you might be going swimming.

Hole 2 plays next to a skate park and by the pond. On the plus side, I got to see a little kid do a drop in for the first time on a half pipe. The down side is that he was immediately smashed in the noggin by an errant throw. The basket on this one sits next to the water. Go long, get wet. That's what she said.

Hole 3 goes WAY up hill. Like...WAY up the dang hill.

Holes 4 and 5 Play in a field that is covered in the thickest, gnarliest, toughest rough that I have ever seen. For the love of all that is holy; STAY IN THE FAIRWAY.

Hole 6 is literally one of the rings of hell. Sure, there is a fairway. Sure there is. If that's what they want you to believe...then fine.

7 has two different tee pads, and I found the Am pad to be much harder than the Pro pad. But then again, I can screw up a one man parade.

Hole 8 is jail from start to finish and has a neigh impossible line around a zillion skinny lil' trees. Throw right, you are OK. get left and just jump in front of a bus. You'll feel better.

9 goes over a road and back up hill. Cool little hole, and a bit of a respite from the rest of the course that destroys you like a Styrofoam cup.

Hole 10 is long, long, and long. Also, the fairway is narrower than a 10 year old's ass. Just jail from tee pad to pin. hit the gap, and you are good to go. That's what she said.

Hole 11 is a sweet little hyzer hole that makes you think that you can play disc golf.

Hole 12 has two tee pads and are probably my favorite holes on the course. the am pad plays underneath a log from the tee pad. Just an amazing view. Also, I birdied both pads, so of course I loved it.

Hole 13 can die in a house fire. Uphill, long, jail the entire way down, and the pin sits on a cliff in the long position. I'd rather get taken to jail and made a large man's girlfriend than to play this hole again.

Hole 14 is 4598409584095 feet downhill with woods all the way down and a HUGE right hand turn. Hang glide to the bottom. It'll be MUCH faster.

Hole 15 is a super long hole back across this huge hill. Trees sit in front of the box, and this 500 ft hole can turn into 5 drives REAL fast if you hit one of those trees. It ain't good.

Hole 16 goes UP the huge hill and it's a giant killer. I can't tell you how long this hole plays when the wind is blowing in your face. I almost hired a courier service to take my disc to the basket instead of throwing it.

Hole 17 is a LOOOONG, TIGHT left turn of a hole that will eat your discs. I saw no less than 12 discs get eaten in 96 holes of golf out there. Devil hole.

Hole 18 is Satan's playground. Long, uphill, 2 foot wide fairway and a huge left turn after it gets out of the woods with trees completely surrounding the hole. Bring a chainsaw.

Hole 19 is downhill and open. That''s about it. Not all of them can be perfect! This was fine though.

Hole 20 was a big uphill shot and kind of wide open.

Hole 21 is a cool little shot that sits behind an entire grove of mature trees. I also liked this hole, as I birdied it twice.

Hole 22 is super sick. OB all the way down on the right, mature trees all the way down to the pin and an elevated pin that sits in a landscaped box. Sick to death hole that demands precision and distance.

Hole 23 is a LONG hole with OB all the way down the right, behind the basket and to the left of the basket. Mature trees spot the fairway, and hills will eat your lunch.

Hole 24 is a sweeping right hand turn with trees lining both sides of the fairway. The shot is tough and the putt is harder, as it ends in a hanging basket, suspended over a mulch bed. Amazing hole!

Seriously people, forget any negative reviews. If there is a down side to this course, it's that beginners will get destroyed out there. Not even close.

Also, out of 24 holes, there are literally 22 different kinds of tee pads. Concrete, brick, rubber, wood, astroturf, etc. But they all worked out well.

Great use of elevation
Nice tee signs
24 holes
Well kept
Practice basket
Nice long concrete tee pads
Nice use of water
Offers a variety of different shots

A bit tough to navigate
Old and a bit rusted DisCatchers
Some holes too close to pedestrians
It is pay to play

Now this course was my first ever course played in Indiana. Not gonna lie but I was a bit surprised. It is a very nice and very well kept course. You can tell the take slot of pride in their course. Came here on vacation, and not one bit disappointed. The one thing I recommend is bug spray. I came here in the beginning of July and they were EVERYWHERE!!! Never the less it doesn't take away from the experience. It will definitely make you throw every shot in your bag. It utilizes the area. I would have to say that hole #14 was my favorite. You throw down a monster of a hill. Then a few holes later you come right back up. It will use the land. This course isn't extremely tough, but it is a bit of a challenge. If I am in the area again I will for sure play again. I loved it. Hole #2 plays along a skatepark. It is very easy to actually go into the skatepark. It can definitely be dangerous. Just beware of this. Besides that it was an awesome course. If I'm up here again I will stop by for another great round.

Magnificent course in a clean, scenic, pleasant, well maintained suburban park, offering far more than just disc golf. Starts right out of the box with a scenic and inviting hole that has you driving over water, but not to the point where you need to throw 300' to clear it.

23 more holes provide a great mix of tight, moderately tight, some-what open and a couple of wide open fairways. Splendid use of numerous elevation changes off the tee as well as some sloped greens. Throw in a nice mix of distances and the result is: all the variety you could ask for. Unique hole after unique hole - never comes close to feeling boring or repetitive. Keeps you engaged and entertained the entire round, with diversity that utilizes your entire shot making repertoire. Certainly a challenging course, which can punish you for straying far from the fairway, but not overly harsh in doing so.

Baskets seemed fine to me, and there's a flag to help you locate the blind basket on one hole (5, perhaps?). Looks like they change pin placements occasionally to keep things fresh. Signage is pretty good, and course flows reasonably well. Navigation can be tricky in a few spots, but overall, not much of an issue considering it was my first visit.

Real restrooms (reasonably clean with running water) located an upshot away from 1st tee.

• Hole 2 features a raised basket with the lake looming just behind it - talk about risk/reward! You have to aim high to have a shot at getting a deuce, but if you don't hit the chains pretty solidly, you could lose your putter as it sails past the basket...and into the drink. Call me a wimp, but that's a little too ballsy for my taste.
• Some holes play across or near asphalt paths which can be harsh on plastic should you land on, or skip off them. A few holes have other unnatural obstacles that could come into play should a shot get away from you. Other park users could be an issue on high traffic days.
• Fairway for 12 was flooded, and it was beautiful weather when I played. I can see how some holes would be nasty the day after a good soaking.
• Jerks have broken off many of the bag hooks on most of the tee posts.

**9/22/17: Rating revised from 4.5 to 4.0... Still a destination worthy course, but great course, but I have a better perspective at this point.**

This is what disc golf should be: FUN!!
Standout holes were 1 (over the lake), 12 (mando under the arched tree), 14's huge sweeping downhill bomb... I could go on.

Perhaps a con for some, but I can't complain about the park admission fee - park and course are obviously well maintained in pretty much every way, and worth the price in my opinion. Didn't mention I wasn't a resident and they didn't ask; paid the local admission.

Others have bagged on them, but personally, I actually liked the hodgepodge of tee pads and didn't not find them to be an issue. The mix of brick pavers, the map on 18, the asphalt tee box on 12, concrete on some... all of it just added to the novelty for me. Many (if not most) of the basket posts are mounted through a hole cut in the middle an old disc... just adds flavor... this place is simply cool.

Maybe I just came at the right time of year, but the lush foliage and green fairways just added to the overall appeal of this course - the place looked fabulous. Considering RLP's only about an hour or so from Lemon Lake, they'd make a great couple of days worth of disc golf. If you're a DG road tripper, you gotta work northwest Indiana into one of your excursions.

Twenty-four holes, representing a broad variety of hole-types. Two tee locations per hole, concrete, signage, benches at the longs, toeboards at the shorts. Practice basket.

Paid park personnel hardly knew a thing about the course, such as where it started, or how to obtain a map.

This course appears to be the pride and enjoy of an alien discoursologist - visit a course, remove a few typical holes, visit a different type of course, extract a few more holes, repeat several times, then proudly put them altogether in a single, albeit large, display case. Want to throw over water? Welcome to hole-1. Like the novelty of playing to a hanging basket? The final hole will provide that opportunity. In-between, you'll find: Flat holes playing in the shade of extremely tall hardwoods; Downhill bombs followed by their corresponding uphill shots; A plethora of sharp left- and right-turning shots required to reach baskets up/down/across wooded ridges; Longer holes with mid-distance chokepoints that need to be hit in order to have reasonable approaches to the basket; Other long holes requiring you to miss an obstacle early and/or late, but leave the majority of the flightpath unmolested.

The tee locations are nearly as eclectic as the holes themselves - while most tees are brick, there were a variety of other surfaces, too. Benches, baghooks, teesigns, trashcans - all the amenities a tee location needs.

Favourite holes: I really liked the 7-9 combination. #7, starting in open, on a ridge, ending amongst tall trees, basket on a ridge of equal elevation, requiring a gentle right-turner upon entering the wooded valley; #8 requires a dead-straight throw about 200', then a very hard left to park the basket - turn too early, or late, and get knocked down by one of the many small trees defining the obvious flight path; #9, similar to number 7, except you start in the woods, with the basket in the open, in a slightly higher location. A sharp right turn is needed to reach the basket, with one large tree knocking down any disc which turns too early, and large bushes in the background that'll catch any disc which begins turning too late.

Least favourite: The short, but dreaded #2, with the fence running the entire length of the left-side, guarding an ob-skatepark, and trees/water running along the right-side.

If you prefer your courses to have a theme/be a bit homogeneous, you might not enjoy the entire course (although you'll find some holes you'll like), but if variety-is-the-spice-of-life is more your motto, come here and have all the variety you can handle!

Roger's Lakewood is one of my all-time favorite courses for plain ol' fun. Due to the massive variety in hole-types and distances, Lakewood overall is accessible to a wide range of skill-levels. On the most difficult holes, newer players will have to patiently find creative ways to make par but will be rewarded now and then with a fun, tightly wooded shot where anyone who hits the line will have a putt for birdie. Pro players aren't going to find too many 'gimme's' though and will be on their toes trying to collect '2's.

While some of the very front and very back holes can sometimes be crowded with non-discers, most of the wooded central section of the course is located in disc golf only areas where you are more likely to see wildlife like foxes, raccoons, and frogs than pedestrians.

Finally, there are a couple of really memorable holes, mostly mentioned in previous reviews (such as 14 & 15) which will stick with you. 14, while not as long as other top of the world shots, remains one of my all-time favorites because of the beautiful view and the very real possibility of landing in monster shule!

From the start, the course designer and the local club have done an excellent job of keeping Lakewood in stellar condition. You'll almost always find fresh woodchips, clean fairways, and all of the little improvements that make the course shine.

The main drawback of the course at Roger's Lakewood is the lack of any multiple shot holes which require a drive to a landing zone and then a second well executed drive or long approach to the pin. Nearly every hole at Lakewood can be achieved in '3' with a 'just okay' drive and approach shot. There are several holes indeed which are very unlikely birdie '2's from the long tees such as hole 16 which plays straight up a tubing hill. The length and large elevation change prevents most players from reaching the putting green, but at the same time, a bogey is a rare event because of the (too short) distance for par 4 and the lack of any punishing features such as OB. Nearly all players with great, good, and just okay drives will get the par and move on.

Hole 10 approaches the qualification of a hole with a defined 'landing zone' but, again, because of the too short distance, does not give adequate reward to those who card the '3'. Add another 150' or so to this fairway and you've got a great par 4 hole with a well-defined landing area, punishing rough, and a tricky approach shot. As it stands now, players can bomb a hyzer or big flex over the trees to try for the '2' and if they don't hit the fairway, are usually close enough to get up and down for a boring par.

To get a little picky, some of the tees can be slippery when it rains - take care especially on the faux grass astroturf tees!

Lakewood definitely makes my best-of list of courses which are a blast to play and are accessible to a large range of players from AMII's to average pro's. There is a little bit of everything out here which gives it broad appeal and a well-rounded feel - you likely won't be disappointed!

This is a great course that has a very high fun factor. I had a great time playing with a dgcr member (jukeshoe) that showed me the course. The course is set in a very scenic park that has playgrounds,fishing,skate park and most importantly DISC GOLF. The course has a large variety of shots that need to be executed, long,short,uphill,downhill,left,right,tight fairway and open bombs. Also has O.B. and water to contend with on several holes. Has great teepads that are grippy and level, even though most are different materials( Some people may think its a con but i think it adds character). Each hole has a very nice sign of the hole with yardage and alternate pin locations,as well as hooks to hang your bag on. Also there are alot of benches around the course to take in nature. The course seemed well groomed and clean and that the locals really love and take care of this course. Thanx guys. The baskets are not all the same but are in good shape. There is a port-a-john next to the parking lot which is nice. Alternate basket placements for most holes are a plus !!

All in all , i really liked this course and i love to see that the locals are extremely involved. It looks as if they made the best course they could with the land they had( great job and great course). I will definitely play this course in the summer when the rough grows in, which looks like it will add a great challenge.

Navigation- Im glad i got a local to help me navigate this course,im sure i would of had a little trouble. Print a map and that should solve that problem.
Hole 7- not a big deal but after u throw ur shot u have to walk down a steep downgrade thats mainly dirt and could cause a fall or slip,steps would be nice..no biggie though
Hole 2- Its a nice hole but it is way to easy for someone to accidentally throw into the skate park and not only hurt there ego/disc but possibly injure a skater.
Hole 19- You have to throw towards the skate park parking lot and the basket is way to close to cars in that lot,its asking for trouble imo.
The park also looks as if it can get very crowded with not only disc golfers but people fishing,biking, and walking and may cause a risk of hitting someone because alot of holes play near these areas.
Side note- The rough was pretty "narley" and i played before spring. I can only imagine what its like in the summer. Not a major deal

This course got a half a disc higher score because of the local efforts. U can see the local efforts on every hole. There are many courses that get installed and left unkept,not this one. It will definitely make for a extremely fun round with plenty of reachable holes for everyone and great challenge if u miss ur line. Go play this course cause if you dont you will miss a gem. This course is a prime example of how good a course can be, with the dedication of locals willing to do what it takes to make a stellar course. Thx to you all

-Course is set in a big beautiful park with a wide range of terrain.
-Some big elevation changes.
-Most holes have mature trees as obsticles.
- Tight windows, and length on many holes.
- A great mix of left, right, and straight shots.
-A good mix of hazards
-Mix of tall and skinny trees, short and wide trees, shrubbery, and dense rough to make things challenging.
-Challenging pin placements.
-Water on multiple holes. Hole #1 is directly over the pond.
-Basket are in good shape.
-Tee signs are good.
-Pads are made of different materials but all in descent shape.

-Pay to play during the summer may be a con to some.
-slightly confusing layout for first time players.
-Inconsistant teepads may be a con to some.
-Being a multi-use park some holes are too close to where people congrigate and play tennis and other things.

I found this park very enjoyable to play. It was challenging yet still had a definite fun factor to it. I believe its one of the best courses in its area. I would definitely recomend it, Im looking forward to playing it again.

Fantastic scenery throughout a massive park maintained by a $5/car fee. Signage fresh and a majourity of holes had hooks on which to hang your bag (a very unique feature!)

Start out shooting over a lilypad-filled pond, then around the skate park and into a field. Holes 6-11 are a gauntlet of tightly-wound tunnel shots - lines must be hit or you will not be happy. Beautiful ravine shot on #7, with a tight entrance. #9 is a wicked right hook over a small road. Blind holes aplenty. #10 almost made me quit - punishing rough that you cannot recover from. The course opens up quite a bit after that. HUGE hill comes into play for holes #13-16. Massive bomb down #14 might be the signature hole on this course. The last six were my favourite, under a canopy of mature trees, with a few birdie ops. I enjoyed the brick tees; a nice touch.

However several tees were just dirt or the brick had been pulled up a bit. #12s tee was a spray-painted box on a concrete path. You can get lost after #10; I ended up at #14. It took me quite a while to locate the next tees...

This was first Indiana experience, and I came away impressed. It is obvious that a lot of care is put into the course and the park as a whole. 24 holes is sometimes a chore but the layout maximizes the variety of terrain the park has to offer. I did walk into a few summer camp activities, which was a surprise. This course is extremely challenging and I would not recommend it for a first-timer. I will definitely play through again and bring others.