I have a bit of a soft spot for Sergeant Means for a couple of reasons: its close to my house, it is my club's home course, and it is where I played my first sanctioned tournament back in 2015. So, while, I am going to try being as objective as possible in my review, consider this a warning of potential bias.

Now that that's out of the way. I honestly do believe that "Means" is a fun, serviceable course that can provide a fun, quick round any time of year.

+Truth be told, I have never visited the inside of the park district building that the entire park is centered around, but I am told they have a small selection of discs for sale inside.

+The course is 20 holes, but only one hole is 300'+ and it is 300' on the dot and wide open. So even with the two extra holes, its a quick round if you want it to be. Someone who has played the course before could easy get through in less than an hour without exerting themselves.

+While the holes are mostly on the shorter side, there is a great bit of technicality involved with a lot of the holes. A variety of lines and shot shapes are required to get a quality, under-par score here. This is a great course for a beginner to master some basic shot shapes or for a seasoned player to practice up on fundamentals that are required at any course.

+The local scene is awesome and the course gets a lot of traffic from the local club, aside from the regular Sunday leagues(+Thursday during summer!) The players at Means are typically very friendly, consisting of a wide variety of players in terms of skill level and age. Many times have I brought new players out to this course for leagues or a casual round, confident that they will be welcomed with opened arms.

+Ace Runs! For a 950+ rated player... every hole is "aceable" at this course. And for an 850+ rated player I would say up to 15 of them are still "aceable." This can make for a lot of fun and excitement during the round and contributes to making Means a fun course for doubles or a one disc round.

-Sergeant Means is operated by the park district of Olympia Fields and it is a fairly large, multi-use park. There is a walking path that crosses through the course several times, although it is typically off to the side in most cases, it comes into play on MOST of the holes at this course. With that in mind, the paths are typically played as IN-bounds by the locals and club.

-The baskets at this course are far from state of the art, but are generally sufficient enough for a course like Means While they have mostly been updated from the Mach 2 (a couple remain,) the Chainstars that have replaced them still give some trouble to a firm putter with some pace behind it.

-The teepads are fairly rough hereand often uneven. They are rubber mats in most cases-- some are in better shape than others. Again, serviceable, but far from what I would consider high-quality.

Unfortunately, given the nature of disc golf course reviews and some of the criteria that I consider to be required of a good course... some of the Pros of Sergeant Means are also cons...

-The course is short and for a 900+ rated player... its pretty easy and isn't going to offer a ton of challenge or excitement for a competitive round aside from the regular ace runs.

If you take Sergeant Means for what it is, I think its hard to beat. A quick track connected with a local park to get a quick, fun round in? Somewhere you can go to practice, forever trying to beat your 13 under par course record? A friendly, non-intimidating environment to introduce a newer player to the game? THIS IS YOUR PLACE!!

If you're looking some championship level golf, with high-quality amenities and heated competition? You might give somewhere else a try. Unless you're trying to run some $5 dubs with the locals who will gladly take a go at your lunch money....

Nice orchard setting in a large park.

Different shot variety used well: straight, tunnel, hyzer, anhyzer, and roller.

Not crowded when I played.

Good baskets, decent signs and tee pads.

Uses elevation it has well and the shots through the orchard were interesting.

A few holes seemed a bit impossible to find a line to the basket that took more skill than luck to hit.

Some navigation issues with back tracking and such. Didn't spend too much time finding out where to go.

Didn't have issues with other park users, but there were not many out. Just be aware of your surroundings when playing as it may be an issue.

No hole really stands out to me, but it was a solid course that was fun to play.

Not sure if I would drive 45 minutes to go back and play again. It was a nice disc golf day, it just didn't have those exciting holes that would keep me going back to play. Just felt like a decent/ average 18 hole course. It is worth at least a play to see for yourself though.

- Sergeant Mean's is a park style course that plays mostly around the perimeter of a nicely manicured and well-kept multi-use facility. Grassy, with no schule except for on the very edge of the park, the course's main challenges consist of decent elevation changes as well as above average tree formations.
- Vegetation: for a park style course, Sgt. Mean's has a great mix of looks into and out of stands of trees, "up and over" type shots where coming up short means losing a disc in the dense deciduous treetops, tunnel shots down two rows of trees, and "thread the needle" gap shots where hitting your line is the difference between par and a deuce.
- Variety: again, for a park style course Sgt. Mean's mixes things up nicely over the 20 holes. Nothing seems repetitive, with maybe the exception of the "tunnel shots" which kept occuring. A good mix of wooded, semi-wooded, and open.
- Elevation, while not even moderate, was nevertheless used extremely well and added many interesting shots (including one blind pin with a drop-off behind). Used very well in conjunction with vegetation.
- Amenities: a few loose chains but mostly decent baskets; adequate but sometimes missing signage; rubber mats in decent shape; playground, soccerfield, tennis and basketball courts, playground, baseball diamond, portajohns, etc. on site.

- The flow and navigation are a bit of a struggle the first (and even second) time through here, even after being guided. Several illogical back-tracks to tees. Several tees where two or three different baskets could be the potential target add to the confusion. Coupled with average signage, this could lead to shooting at the wrong basket. On the other hand, it offers up the opportunity for some crazy safari rounds.
- The bustling park doesn't interfere much with the course, but the atmosphere doesn't lend itself to relaxed, isolated "in the tank" sort of discin' that most enjoy.
- Parts of the park are bounded by private properties, some of which have fences easily capable of swallowing an errant throw.

- There's a windmill!
- Beware the dense treetops on #'s 5 and 20. "Up and over" at your own risk.
- Solid though not spectacular, the Sarge is like a crafty ol' soldier: not flashy, but with more than a few cunning tricks up his sleeve, and more dangerous than he first appears. ATTENTION!

- The course plays around a nice multi-use park just south of the city. The orchard style trees give it a unique feel

- Beginner friendly course, but it still offers enough variety to keep it interesting for experienced players.

- An excellent place to practice overhad shots, a good thumber can go a long way on the orchard section.

- Although they are all realatively short there is a good variety of lines and some elevations changes on a few holes. Also a good mix of open shots with tighter holes.

- Tee signs do a decend job of helping a first timer visit but the course doesn't always follow a logical flow.

The biggest complaint of this course is that it is very short. If there was room to add a few longer pin placements this course could be much better.

Also, being a multi-use park there are pleanty of other park users to watch out for. The course plays through soccer fields, playgrounds, walking paths ect.

The course can get really soggy with the rain

The course has a unique feel to it and a variety that makes it enjoyable. It certainly isn't a destination course but it is a solid 20 holes.

- Course is set in a medium sized park that has a walking path and some picnic areas. A few spots are meant for other uses, but not too much interference.
- Portions of the course borders a small forest area, mostly counter-clockwise, taking away a lot of easy hyzer routes. There are also some spots that require a right hook around the forest, as well as avoiding some low hanging trees.
- Other spots are densely populated by small trees in tight rows. These holes force plenty of dead straight shots, as well as others that snake left and right through the tight lines, with some hard curves in both directions. A few baskets are protected with these trees as well.
- Some holes are more open, with a few trees to force some shots. Some elevation changes are present, including a hill that has an upshot and a sloping fairway.
- Good tee signs, decent baskets, teepads are in pretty good shape where present.

- Holes are squeezed in very tightly in some spots, with a few fairways or baskets close to another. Flow is pretty funky as well; there are two spots where you must retreat down the same fairway, and going from hole to hole can be a bit of a hike. Navigation is easy but awkward.
- Overall, the length is pretty short, with a good number of pretty easy holes. Even the trickier ones are short enough where a recovery shot is not too difficult.
- Tons of man-made pavement, parking lots, buildings, and picnic tables to navigate. It is good for OB purposes, but is an eyesore and too plentiful.

- This course has a lot of variety, with a lot of different features. The rows of trees provide a ton of tricky lines, in a lot of directions. Other holes have fewer trees that are more random, so the different shots with different tree patterns have a unique feel. Not many bombers, though most have some wrinkle to add some challenge.
- Might be a tad too easy for some with the shorter hole lengths, but the tougher lines should make up for that. Should be enjoyable for most casual to experienced players.

The course plays through a pretty city park with nice grass and tight stands of trees that obviously used to be an orchard. There are multiple places in the park with some cool little elevation changes that are used well.

There is a nice mix of fairly open holes with some scattered trees, and some extremely tight tunnel shots and shots through the overgrown orchard section of the course, giving some variety to the holes. There are a few where rollers or big overhand shots are the best option, which was a cool design feature (not that I'm actually good at either of those shots...). Though most of the course felt pretty short, there was enough difficulty to keep it interesting, and a few longer shots mixed in. There were a few shots that dictated left and right turning shots, and these seemed pretty balanced.

Most of the course is pretty easy to follow, with decent hole signs and baskets in good shape. The landscaping and grounds maintenance couldn't be better, makes for a very nice park round.

There were a few spots where the course flow was pretty bad, you had to walk back the length of the previous hole to get to the next tee. Several of the tees didn't provide the best teeing area, with some that were not level or not large enough, and a couple where there really wasn't a designated tee.

There were way too many spots on this course where holes played too close to other park uses. The tennis courts, soccer fields, and multiple walking paths and picnicking areas are all in play, and could make for dangerous rounds when the park is busy.

Overall, this is a fun little course in a city park that does the best it can with the fringes of a busy multi-use park. There are some fun holes, that make this course worth a stop in the area, but it's a little busy, and not enough of a draw to be worth driving very far to play.

There is enough difficulty here to keep things interesting for more experienced players. Newer players may be frustrated by some of the tighter holes, but there isn't much distance to frustrate smaller arms or any real places to lose discs.

What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 (and more) hole courses:

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C+
(The holes through the trees offer good punishment and require accuracy, but never enough punishment to expect a bogey for one's errors. At least half the holes are wide open and offer zilch in this department.)

2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I throw 300' accurately, 360' max. == B-
(Most of the wooded holes make for fun and rewarding birdies - several are too short of my liking. About 1/4 of the open holes are challenging for me. Given the land the designer had to work with only a few small improvements could have been made in this area, IMO.)

3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B-
(There are a bunch of finesse/touchy shots required that take a variety of throws - rollers are recommended on several. IMO, this is the strength of this course.)

4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B-
(The park is attractive and well maintained and has a nice vibe. Seclusion is poor as you are playing around ball fields and through picnic areas the entire round.)

5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == N/A

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (125 18-hole, 64 9-hole as of mid 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

Well maintained and open, very easy to find any stray shots. Grass is always short and trees are always trimmed, no poison ivy here.

Large amounts of trees creating unnecessary blocks on many holes, soccer and baseball game crowds may block some holes during the day. Some holes backtrack over eachother which can be confusing and cause course backups.

The course is AWESOME design of each holes. Nice signs with lots of detail. Pretty hard to loose a disc unless you threw a huge hyzer on 5 like I did...
Nice wildlife!

Terrible parking...Terrible design of the course. The person who designed it probably was on crack and didn't care about other people in the park.

It was a very over rated course. All my friends thought it was an awesome course. Which it is! But when I went yesterday it was horrible there are so many people around and the odds of you hitting one are pretty high. I dont know about you but I that is one thing I dont like to worry about when I go disc golfing,

Good layout with the amount of land available. Some very fun,difficult holes. I agree that the short holes equal a low score. I also aced hole 2!

Seems that a few holes were put in just to make more holes. You play one, then walk back down the fairway you just threw down to play an adjacent hole. Semi-pointless.

This is where it all began for me. I first started playing this course in 1995, then I moved to Washington state.