In southwest South Bend, the Rum Village Park DGC offers 24 homogeneous holes full of trees, hills and grassy fairways.

Rum Village takes park-style disc golf and amps it up with more holes and plenty of casual elevation. The course is probably best geared toward the intermediate level, but it's playable for novices too.

The "traversability" might be a bit challenging for some with the hills, uneven surfaces, acorns, leaves and roots coming into play. The course is described as moderately hilly, after all. However, losing a disc at Rum Village would be difficult on most of the holes, as there is little brush to worry about.

Excellent signage: The new tee signs at Rum Village are some of the best I've seen with a large number, distance, an overhead map with suggested line and OB marking, and a hole profile map that not only indicates the direction in which to throw (which is not always intuitive from the teepad) but also the elevation.

Most of the holes involve some elevation and navigating random trees to the basket. A number of the holes don't have defined fairways, and inaccurate drives aren't automatically punished here.

Holes #20 and #21 diverge a bit from the rest of the course in design. They are located on the edge of the woods and instead of grassy hills, they are flat with a defined fairway and some undergrowth to avoid. These holes were a nice addition and provided some variety. I wish there had been a few more design deviations throughout the round.

While there are some uphill and downhill holes, the course tends to blend together while feeling and looking similar. Nearly every hole is fairly straight ahead. Every hole is now a par 3. The average hole is 300 feet and there are very few outliers. Obviously, there are a variety of lines available due to the trees, but in reflecting upon my round, my normal disc golf eidetic memory is blurred; several of the holes seemed similar and they aren't distinctive. Reportedly, this course use to be 18 holes and included two long par-4 holes. But it appears that while Rum Village gained consistency during a minor redesign, the course lost some of its individuality.

Navigation can be confusing. While the tee signs indicate the "Next Tee," if you forget, the next hole isn't always immediately clear. In fact, my friend and I actually threw to the wrong basket once - in the complete opposite direction - because we thought the location was obvious and didn't pay attention to the tee sign. Oops.

The baskets are not numbered. The baskets would benefit from a large, bright number, since it's possible to see multiple baskets from nearly any given teepad. On a few holes, the correct basket is in a blind location.

The park roads come into play on a few holes by running alongside the fairway.

No trash cans on the course. No nearby restrooms either, though there is a dense wooded area after Hole #13.

The Rum Village Park DGC was created in 1994, and the well-worn teepads and beat-up baskets definitely provide an old-timey vibe. While the course would benefit from some amenities and updated teepads and baskets, Rum Village is a good choice for disc golfers seeking a fun but not soul-killing round. Plus, it's a solid alternative to the more open George Wilson Park course nearby.

Also, while there are several 18-hole-plus courses in the Greater South Bend area, this is the only long course that isn't pay to play.

This course is free.
Moderately wooded
Frequent elevation changes
Long and short holes

Some redundant shots
Leaves in late fall will make finding discs hard

Some alternate basket placements would be nice.

-Quality teepads with decent signs on every hole
-The park is kept up really well
-Almost impossible to lose a disc (no real rough/underbrush)
-A fair mix of easy and some tougher holes

-No clear indicator of where the course starts from the parking lot
-Course navigation can be confusing in a few spots for first timers. Some navigation signs would be welcomed.
-A few holes play somewhat close to roads but it's relatively minor hazard here
-The park isn't in the greatest of areas

Rum Village Park is a course I frequent when I'm in town because it's a quality course and its free to play. The elevation use and course layout are great, no two holes feel the same. It is a good place for players of different skill levels, there is something for every type of player/throwing style. It is challenging enough for better players and isn't too harsh on beginners. This course has the potential to earn an even higher rating with just a few upgrades such as, better signage, additional teepads, and a onsite course map/info kiosk. I absolutely would recommend playing this course if you are in the area, it will not disappoint.

Overall I feel this course is a good one. Especially since the park itself is located in the city. I really liked the layout. The front nine I would say rates on the easy side of things and the back nine is a little more tricky. Every tee pad was concrete which I find is better then rubber mats. A few of the baskets are in the open, but a lot of then you have to throw between or around some trees. Another plus is the variety of distance on the baskets. Some short and some long.

One thing this course lacks is trash receptacles. There were more then a few baskets that had cans and bottles just thrown on the ground. Another thing I did not like is most of the signs at the tee pads were in bad shape. A few you could read, but most of them you could not. Because of this the course could be just a tiny bit hard to navigate for first timers.

Overall I would say this is a good course. I would recommend this course for anyone just starting out in the game or for someone who has played for awhile.

Rum Village is a very solid course. The course was busy but the flow was steady and there were no backups. The course is free to park and play - the disc golf parking lot is about 3/4 way around the circle and has a tiny little sign claiming, 'Disc Golf Course'

Hole 1 starts behind the pavilion by the parking lot.

Having played a variety of courses, Rum Village stands out as one of the only courses that has pretty much, ZERO, rough.Holes 1,2 and 3 run along the edge of the park and has a treeline with some scrub, but other than that - the rest of the course is wide open grass and trees. If you can shape lines here, you'll be fine.

Nice concrete tees poured for all the holes with gravel around them to reduce mud. The baskets are all in good shape and overall the course looks great.

The lack of rough here make this an excellent place to practice throwing all kinds of lines. Tree placement makes the holes what they are, you can see the basket from most of the tees, but tree placement makes straight throws difficult and you need to shape some lines through the trees.

The front 9 and back 9 are separated and the front 9 almost leads back to the parking lot. It's a little walk away form it, but not bad if you want to just play 9 and return to the car. Navigation between 9 and 10 was the only place we got 'lost'. 10 is over the road and 'up' from 9 basket.

There is a great mix of long and short holes - allowing some long bombs (if you can make it through the trees) and some short upshots. Along with the length, the course has some great elevation changes. There is only 1 hole under 200' in length.

Although there are some long holes here - 600' & 700' - this is nothing that I would steer a beginner away from. The trees might be frustrating if you are playing plinko - but the lack of rough makes hitting the tree your only punishment. There are great rewards for shaping some lines through the trees.

Course is very easy to navigate, but I wish there was a course map with hole lengths since the tee signs are pretty much useless (torn and vandalized beyond recognizable for most and just wrong on the front 9 since they moved a hole)

Hole 4 plays right along side the road and while I was teeing off on 5, I saw three people throw discs into the road and one across it. Definitely a concern for players that cannot control a throw.

It's hard to rate down a course for the neighborhood it's in, but I wouldn't want to play here at night. During the day it was fine, but night might be questionable. Not having been here at night before though, I cannot say for sure, but I'd be uneasy. Every play here has been during the day.

Besides having to weave around trees - there isn't a lot of left to right variation. Hole 11 is the exception, but other than that - most are just straight.

As stated by all the other reviewers - the neighborhood is shady, but it's not as bad as other parts of South Bend. The park sounds like it's regularly patrolled and was very busy with DGers when I was out there.

Some local teens were hanging out, non-dgers, in the parking lot, which seemed strange since the parking lot for the DG course is separate from the rest of the park. The flow of disc golfers seems steady enough that no one seemed concerned about their vehicle. Just be sure to lock it.

Replacing the tee signs would go a long way to improving this course.

Not a lot of real 'remember-able' holes here - but they are all pretty good. There doesn't seem to be any 'let's place one here since we have to get 18 holes in' type holes. The land is well used and being one of the only free DG parks in NWI is a plus.

If you're passing though, I would hit this and Wilson up. Both are relatively easy to get to from the 31/20 bypass and on the south side of SB/Mishawaka.

Rum Village is free, and is the only free course I played in that area. Granted, I only played three courses, but Indiana has spaced them out AND expects me to pay, so I didn't have as much of a chance to wear myself out while I was there as I would have liked. The upkeep of the course was top notch though. I don't know if it's the South Bend Parks Department or who maintains the grounds, but the groundskeeping was phenomenal. The baskets were all in great shape, and the concrete teepads were grippy and long.

There's plenty of challenge on this course. Unlike the other courses in the area that don't seem to understand what the word "par" means, they're spot on here. None of the holes are more than a par 4, and even those 4's are a good 600+ feet to the pin. The challenge I refer to is a mix of distance, elevation, and technicality. Although I would argue with this course being rated as "4/5 trees" for technicality, it still offered plenty of challenge. The fairways were undefined due to a lack of underbrush, so even hitting a tree won't hurt your score that much (unless you hit one 50 feet from the pad on a 600 foot hole).

I was very happy with the course design, as there's something here for everyone. Uphill and downhill (including an epic downhill bomb on the current 9), short and long, and right and left hand turning shots. As I mentioned, there's almost no undergrowth whatsoever, so the only way to lose a disc would be to go long on holes 1, 2, or 3 or to have one take off down a hill when you aren't looking.

I've never dealt with such a thing before, but I'm told that the other course in South Bend takes down half of their baskets in the winter. Rum Village stays up year round, so there's another pro that I probably wouldn't have thought of.

The locals I ran into were friendly and not like the "rabble" that I would expect in this semi-shady neighborhood and on the only free course within a short drive. Everyone let us play through and the guy who guided me through the course was very helpful.

I hit a good 100+ foot putt on one hole, so this place already holds a special place for me .

The neighborhood isn't exactly the best one. I say this from experience as I used to have friends living in the area and have been assaulted here as well. By "here" I don't mean Rum Village, but the neighborhood. This experience had nothing to do with my experience at the course, but I still had to throw the warning out there: It's not a ghetto by any means, but I wouldn't send your 16 year old daughter there at 8:30 at night either.

Navigation on this course is off. Many of the teepads are either missing signs or have the signs vandalized so much that they're unreadable. I didn't see any tape on the basket to guide us to the next hole either. I was lucky enough to run into someone there who knew the course or I would have rambled for another half hour. Hole 5 is gone completely due to erosion. I'm not sure where the erosion was, but there you go. They put in a new hole later on to make it a full 18, but the signage hasn't been updated. This is much like Dabney State Park outside Portland in the sense that they changed it up but didn't change the signs. Not a huge deal, but it might confuse someone playing for the first time or trying to show off the course to their friends on this site after playing there.

Some would complain that the short holes are too short. I liked that there was a mix though so that there's something for everyone and a few holes that keep you from wanting to chuck your bag under a car and go home.

Much of the course plays dangerously close to a road. Whether it's OB or not is beside the point. I managed to steer my discs clear of the road, but with this many trees kicking errant shots all over the place and hills trying to roll your disc for days, you're just asking to hit a car or get your disc run over.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this course. I expected a free course in a semi-shady neighborhood to be a waste of time, but I really enjoyed it. Most of the lines were pretty obvious, but that doesn't mean that they were easy to hit. If I were a local I'd be here every day and would shape new lines just to keep myself entertained... But I'd still be here every day.

I didn't explore the park further, but there seem to be many other available activities here besides disc golf, including a playground, hiking and mountain bike trails, and picnic areas.

This is the only free course in the Michiana area. Rolling terrain and mature trees with tucked-in baskets make for a challenging course.

Signs are vandalized/deteriorated so making your way around can be tricky if you don't already know the layout. The road through the park comes into play often.

I played this course back in the late '90's and just moved back to the area. I like the updated basket placements and the extra length on #8 and #12. This is a fun course with something for everyone - up/down, long/short - but even though the course isn't tight (contra other courses in the area such as Ox Bow, Maddie Bertrand, and Ferettie-Baugo) accuracy is still needed due to the well-thought-out pin placements. All in all a fun course - would get a higher rating if the signs were maintained and baskets were in better shape.

This is my second favorite course and for a few simple reasons: It's absolutely free and they keep the chains up ALL YEAR, (which adds at least +1.0 in my opinion.) Plus the city of South Bend does a great job of maintaining the grounds and minimizing the vandalism to the baskets. Nothing is exactly "new" but the baskets are not leaning and the cages are still welded on. Some may complain that the police are an irritating presence, but those same officers hold a doubles tournament every June that has TONS of free stuff sponsored by Innova. The last tournament I walked away with 12 stickers, three mini-drivers, a driver, flex-fit hat, and two tickets to a hog and corn roast the F.O.P. 36 holds later in the summer, all for just $30 plus they had a cash prize for the Pro and AM I divisions. The cops patrol the park to prevent people from committing lewd and indecent acts, and some people are brave enough to bring their family there. The course itself presents different challenges based on the season and since the course lacks a lot of good wind breaks a day can change fast. When the leaves are off the trees you can get a great view of the city from hole 10 (9) and the pad for 11 (10).

There is NO bathroom (which may be for a reason).. The first few times I played I missed 12,13, and 14. To get to them you must cross back over the road and 13 has a temporary pad made of paver blocks. During the winter the wind screams through parts that normally had no wind in other seasons and the kids slick down the hills with their sleds/snowboards where an errant throw can and WILL take your disc to the street. The city should really spend a couple bucks and update the signs, replace the practice basket, make the permanent pad with no basket go away, make the temporary pad permanent and do a top down map of the course at the shelter near hole one since they won't make maps.

DO NOT PARK NEXT TO A TRASH CAN. DO NOT LOOK IN THE TRASHCANS. Curiosity killed the cat and you may get more than you bargain for.

This is a well mantained course nestled in the city of south bend. It gets mowed frequently and stays pretty clean due to local efforts.There are nice huge concrete tee pads u could build a house on. The baskets are also in good shape. The course layout is great for a beginner and pro,with short and long distances.I call this a "tweener" course because it makes u throw every shot in your bag but there is little risk to lose your disc. So you can improve ur shot making skills without having to search for days in the shule for ur disc of a tighter more challenging course. There are some holes that have O.B. risk with roads,which helps this forgiving course. The layout plays through the trunks of huge trees with little to no brush,mostly short green fairways. The design of each hole is great !!, giving you multiple lines on each hole. Alot of undulation which is rare for this area.Plus, the canopy above you makes this course have plenty of shade in the hot summer months. Also, the locals are recently helping to improve some holes and teepads to take this diamond in the rough to the next level. Thanks to all as this is the course i grew up on.

The tee signs are there but kids keep ruining them and it makes navigation for new players a little difficult.It could use a few more trash cans throughout the course. There is not alot of risk on this course which may make ur first time difficult but u will learn quickly how to man handle this course. Not in the greatest neighborhood so u can spot some added "artwork" throughout the course.

This is my home course and i think the best in the area. It doesnt have the challenge and beauty of a higher rated course but it is fun and will improve you game. Thank u to everyone that helps keep this course updated and clean.

-Tall oaks sprawl over rolling hills.
-This course was very clean and well maintained at the time.
-Cement tee pads and intact baskets.
-Several lengthy holes with elevation factoring in.
-Several blind basket placements.
-Lots of elevation to contend with.

-Very few trash cans on course.
-Several shots flirt along a road that gets used frequently.

This is a fun course. Nothing I would travel 2 hours to play but if I were in the area I would stop for sure. It has hosted some big tourneys in the past and has potential to be a great park with a little love and maintenence.

Rum Village is a pleasant walk through tall oaks over some lush green rolling hills. It is quite an impressive sprawl of land that would be ideal for a picnic with your sweetie and it also has the added benefit of being a satisfying disc golf course. This course seemed very clean and well maintained and has cement tee pads and fully intact baskets. There are a few lengthy holes here that utilize the land quite well. Several blind basket placements add to the challenge. Forehand and backhand shots are equally catered to if you can find the lines.

The layout seemed like it may have been confusing at times. Luckily I had an experienced guide who was familiar with the course. This likely saved me a fair amount of bumbling and trudging over hills in the wrong direction. The variety here is accomplished via stalwart sentinel trees that could arguably demand a fair amount of luck at times. I imagine that with repeated playing, lanes that cannot readily be perceived from the tees can be discovered through trial and error but for the uninitiated it has the possibility of being like throwing into a brick wall in some spots. Be prepared to smack some bark along the way.

Play this course if you are passing through this area of the world. It is easy on the eyes. For a free park there was very little traffic, even on a Saturday afternoon, and no hoodlum factor on the course which was a huge plus. Not bad overall. The hills beam with charm and make it quite a worthwhile stroll.

Decent length and difficulty for amateurs and pros, Basic bomb and putt course. Wind sometimes makes putting interesting on front 9. Hard to lose disc after first 3 holes. Decent parking space. Usually no backups on holes.

Very suspicious area, however it has gotten better in the past 3 years. City and local disc golf group are atleast making an effort to clean it up. Vandalized signs and baskets are not uncommon. Not alot of tables or places to sit and relax. Unfriendly patrons and tons of foot traffic on course can lead to problems. No scorecards on site which can make navigating course time consuming.

Place this course in a different area and it quickly goes up to a rating of around 4

Some really good use of elevation.
Large oak trees define the fairways well.
There is shade provided almost year round by the large oaks.
Definately a begginer friendly course. Not very difficult and not very long.
The tee pads are in good shape on holes except #7 has a cracked corner (short hole and wont really affect your drive).

Acorns as previously mentioned cannot only be dangerous to walk on downhill, but falling from 3-4 stories doesnt make them any safer.
If you cant navigate the course there are plenty of suspicious looking "gentleman" (and I use that term VERY loosely) that Im sure would be more than happy to assist you to find the next "hole". I know this has almost nothing to do with the course and should not be held against it but it is creepy if you are male and play solo rounds.
Navigation (I guess I didnt quite address it in my last point). The tee signs dont point you towards the next hole many times. Several are missing, others are vandalized.

DIRECTIONS- regardless of which entrance you come in drive until you see the playground equipment. The next right turn will be for DG parking. Walk through the shelter to find tee pad 1. After hole 9 proceed up the hill, across the street and tee off facing right.
If you need a course to beat a disc in look no further. The oaks provide all the tuning you'll need and then some.

The course plays through a park filled with mature trees, and almost no underbrush. Nearly all holes play through the trees, so there are nice defined lines on most, with none that seemed completely wide open. There is some elevation, and it is used well throughout the course, including a couple hillside pins that add some roll-away danger to long putts. There are a couple bigger holes that shoot downhill through the trees, and these were a lot of fun, combining a downhill bomb with still having to hit a line through the trees.

Much of the course was pretty short, with plenty of ace run holes, and a few longer holes that allow you to throw a real drive. Most holes have multiple possible paths, but if you take the most obvious/open lines, you'll use a variety of different shots here.

There are nice concrete pads for all the tees, and they seemed large enough for the most part. There are signs, though they weren't in very good shape. Other than a couple weird spots, the course had good flow and wasn't too bad to follow. The park is very nicely maintained, and makes for a very nice round in the park.

There are a couple places here where navigation gets a bit dicey, and it's frustrating to have to wander around to find the right tee to throw from. Many of the signs were not readable, and this added to the confusion in these spots, along with some number plates missing or damaged.

The course played too close to the park road, and a main road too much for my taste. There were just too many easy places to end up on or across a road. Though this course seems meant for newer players, I would have liked a few more holes with some length, and a few less straight ace runs.

There isn't anything terribly wrong with this course, it's a nice park setting and it does a good job with the space, there just isn't a whole lot of wow factor to set this course apart.

Beginners will have a lot of fun at this course, with lots of possible lines, and not too much length, though there are some places where it's difficult to navigate at first. More experienced players will have a fun time here, but don't expect anything too challenging or unique.

This course is worth the stop if you're in the area, but it isn't the best course in town if you've only got time to play one. This is, however, a great place to bring newer players for a challenge, while having a good time yourself.

Good balance between shorter open fairways and long fairways with many trees as obstacles. Great park-like setting under large oak trees.

Some out of bounds areas are behind barb-wire fence.

This was my high-school stomping grounds. It still to this day is a fun course to play, especially on a hot day with all the shade. Those oak trees can be surprsingly tough to play around.

Awesome course and free. Long and short holes through lots of trees which means most of the course is rather shaded. Friendly locals and never very crowded when I have been there. Each hole has alternate basket locations. Doesn't really seem to favor left or right handed players but definitely DOES NOT favor those that hit trees.

The holes are spread out. First timers will have a tough time finding their way from hole to hole. There is a lot of graffiti and vandalism on the course signs which is a shame because someone went through a lot of time and effort to make them.

Hole #10 is up the hill and across the road from the #9 basket. #13 and #14 are on the opposite side of the road from #12. #15 through #18 are back on the same side of the road as #12.

It is free to play! There is a good mix of distance between holes. The park is kept in pretty good shape with the exception of the signs of the holes. There are trees but not an overwhelming amount so losing a disc would be difficult.

There was no map or scorecard for this course. When I first arrived I was very confused as to where to go. On some holes there is a great deal of distance between them and finding the next tee can be very challenging. I had to ask other players on the course where to go next several times. Also, the signs near the tees are hard to read and some don't have anything on them which makes it even harder to know where to throw it. There are a few holes that are near the road. You have to cross the park roads several times to get to the next tee.

Overall I think this course is fun and challenging. There are only two par 4's and the rest are par 3's. One of the par 4 holes is over 600 feet. I will be checking this course out more since it is free to play. I'm sure once I get used to the course layout, it will be better.