Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville hosts a recreational 9-hole course behind Prairie Hall, one of the residence halls on campus. This course incorporates land between University Drive and campus buildings, and provides a mix of lines and ace runs.

Location of hole 1 is right next to the parking lot that serves Prairie and Woodland Halls, making the course very accessible for many students on campus. According to SIUE's website, discs are available to check out at Prairie Hall and the Student Fitness Center. If you are coming from off campus, take University Drive to Circle Drive, and just follow signage to Prairie Hall.

Course Equipment is mostly the same equipment from when the course opened in 2001 from the looks of it, and most of it is even still present! The baskets are DISCatchers, with most chains accounted for. The signs that are still present are the classic fiberglass design, though this course is pretty easy to navigate without them. There are a couple of different kinds of concrete tee pads on site, with some being smooth and others having a rockier surface.

Course Design and Difficulty at SIUE is pretty friendly to newer players, with most of the holes being fairly straightforward with limited brush or water to lose a disc in. The distances vary from ace runs under 200 feet, to hole 8's 430-foot fairway. With the generous pars this course incorporates, newer players can use the course par for confidence boosting while more experienced folks can play this course as all par 3s if they choose to.

Variety is present on this course to some degree in addition to the short and straight holes. Hole 3 is a right-turning fairway that requires and anhyzer or forehand from right handed players to have a good shot at putt from where your drive lands, and hole 6 plays around part of Prairie Hall to form a hyzer shot for righties. The rest of the holes play straight but vary in distance and elevation, with hole 4 being downhill and 8 playing over a small valley. Hole 1 is its own special situation.

Hole 1 is shoehorned around a large tree and a volleyball court. The hole was designed to have a mando around the tree immediately to the left of the tee, requiring a roller or awkward RH forehand to get anywhere near the hole in one throw. According the (likely very old) info on SIUE's website, landing on the volleyball court is a 2-stroke penalty. That being said, the sign for hole 1 is currently missing, so unless you have UDisc up, have a map handy, or look to the right on the tee, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people new to the course play to hole 2 by accident.

Safety/Questionable Design comes to mind in a couple other areas in addition to hole 1. Hole 6 plays around part of Prairie Hall into a little courtyard the otherwise looks completely unused. While I appreciate the creativity and uniqueness of the hole, the windows that face the tee make me wonder how strong that glass truly is. The roof can also eat discs for those who decide to get a little wild with their tee shot - just ask my best friend about his Sidewinder.

Course Equipment also is overdue for some attention. A couple of tee signs are currently missing, including hole 1, and those that are still present could use a refresh. The tee pads that have a more rugged surface can get slick in wet conditions as well, which effects over half the tee pads on site. While most of the baskets are still in okay shape, hole 3 has a number of loose chains. With the baskets on site already having just a single row of chains, any chains that are damaged will make a big difference is the chances of a good putt being caught.

Parking is only free on weekends in certain areas for non-students, and metered parking is sparse close to the course. Campus police are certainly not afraid to ticket cars, so if you do decide to park next to Prairie Hall, know that it's at your own risk.

Course Design is most frustrating when it comes to how the course ends. Hole 9 ends next to Woodland Hall, no where near hole 1. If you're parking in free parking, this requires a long walk to hole 1. If you park next to hole 1, this will mean walking back along half the course and then either around Prairie Hall or through the building's lobby. At least you'll get some extra steps for your daily count.

SIU-E's disc golf course was likely constructed with only the campus community in mind, which makes some of the cons understandable. That being said, there are still many aspects of this course that leave more to be desired. My best friend lived in Prairie Hall for a year, and during the next 3 years of his time living on campus, we opted to drive further out to Woodland Chains than across campus to this course whenever I visited. The course felt a little run down or like a second thought when we played it semi regularly a decade ago, and playing it a week ago for the first time in years confirms that this is exactly what this course is.

It's a shame too. SIU-E, despite being a mid-sized institution of around 10-11,000 students, has over 2,600 acres of land, making it one of the largest universities in the United States by area. A significant portion of this land is full of otherwise unused hills, trees, and other terrain that makes for great disc golf. While the land the current course is on would otherwise be awkward to use for anything else, the sheer amount of land around this campus leaves me wondering what could have been when it comes to a course on this campus, even one geared towards new players.

The Metro East Area of St. Louis has had many golf courses built in the last decade to accompany older courses like Woodland Chains and Rock Spring, with plenty of other courses within 20-30 minutes of SIUE. Unless you are a dedicated course bagger or are a student at SIU-E, I'd recommend most of those other nearby courses before this one. That being said, hopefully this course gets some attention and repairs.

SIUE has a beautiful campus. I was a student there and loved walking outside the main part of campus to take in some of the land the school is fortunate to sit on.

Lack of distance and challenge in general.
The most difficult shot on the course is off of the first tee where you face a large tree that's nearly impossible to throw around, towards the target.
The proximity to Prairie Hall makes safety an issue. There are other students walking around campus. Also, discs can get easily beat up from hitting the building, especially around hole 6.

With the land SIUE and Edwardsville is sitting on, they can come up with a better course than this. I hope to visit again and find a better challenge.

none

typical college disc golf course designed and installed by someone who never has played the game

you wont get the time back that yuo wasted playing this poor course, go to rock springs in alton or woodlands park in collinsville instead.

-elevation, holes 2, 3, 4, 6,7,8, and 9 all have a little bit of it
-big concrete pads...BUT see cons
-the discatchers look almost brand new
-hole 7 is a good over the ravine long shot (430')

-this may be the one of the most poorly designed courses in the area. It flows nicely, but ends a LONG way from the parking area, hole 5 (blind rhbh hyzer that brings the dorm into play), and some will probably get hurt on hole nine because the pin drops behind a small hill that if overthrown is going into the walking path that is heavily used.
-tee signs missing on 2, 3, and 4
-Hole 1 is the most ridiculous excuse for a hole ever. The suggested route looks like it plays to 2, but it actually goes around a grove of trees into 2's fairway, do yourself a favor and throw a skinny roller on the farside of the tree by the tee to shorten it and not cause any danger.
-The concrete pads are big and dyed a pretty red color, but are slippery as hell, don't take a big runup or you'll fall.

I wouldn't bother playing this course, it's short, poorly designed, and somewhat dangerous. It's a shame they did this monstrosity when they had plenty of good land to work with including elevation and forested groves...the stuff that makes a good course.