Very clean, well manicured course that maneuvers around the outskirts of a college campus.
Good blend of long and short holes, including an 830 footer....
Concrete tee pads with distance and direction on a sign flush on the corner of the pad.
Couple of the memorable holes:
#3 Tight fairway with solid pine protection on both sides.
#4 Basket tucked away about 250 ft in the tree line on the left.
#8 Huge tree and some type of transformer with limited space to get it through....
#15 Downhill shot from near the pond to a basket under the trees....
Enjoyed the variety of shots created on this course....

Needed the map to find the next hole in a few places....
Would have liked to see sign posts, would have helped navigate the course without the map.

Didn't like the 800 ft hole which was a straight 800 ft throw with no obstacles....

All the above said, was a fun way to wrap up a 4 course Springfield trip.... Played the 2 Lincoln's first, then Douglas, and concluded with UIS.
This was definitely a different feel from the other three Springfield courses, which was a positive thing...
It's solidly a "good" course, but not enough wow to move me to a 3.5 or above...

-Enjoyable for players of any skill level.
-Beautifully maintained course that was not very busy when I played.
-The arrows on the teebox pointing to general direction of the basket with distances.
-Pin placement is well thought out here to make approach shots and putts just a bit more challenging.

-Single tee box and one basket per hole with plenty of room for additional tee boxes and baskets
-Navigation between holes can be a bit confusing especially 9-10 and 10-11. Use the pedestrian walkway crossing underneath the main roadway after hole 9. Some next hole signs would be a good improvement for this course.
-Could use some small bridges over the little creek on #8 and when walking from 17 to 18.
-Slightly non efficient layout: ex. hole #18 was quite a walk from where we parked to start the course. Also you can't really start on 10 because 9-10 is nowhere near the first hole or any parking for that matter.

I was actually pretty impressed with UIS DGC. It's a quality course with a few quirks and a few really decent holes. A couple holes really stand out from the rest notably #3, #9, #12. This course is easy enough for the beginner to enjoy, also challenging enough for more experienced players. While this isn't the best course in the area I would enjoy coming back and playing this course again in the future.

For a course that is literally directly on campus, this was very fun.

The course is very nicely taken care of. The grass is mowed, no trash on the ground, the baskets are in great condition, the tees are concrete, signs are readable, etc... all of the maintenance here was top notch.

There are many birdie possibilities, but also multiple holes that are over 400 feet. The course is varied enough to the point that it doesn't favor right over left and that it doesn't get too repetitive.

Lots of crossing the street. Since I didn't have access to the 18-hole map, I was a little confused after hole 9...the trick is to go under the street!

The tees were a little short for my taste, but there's always room for a run up behind every tee.

The 18th hole is pretty far away from hole 1. The design could have been improved a bit here to make it more efficient.

The aggregate score of 2.1 or something largely reflects the score of this course before it was upgraded to 18 holes, but all past reviewers have been notified. I think that this course should definitely be 3.0+.

It was a very casual round. It's not very hilly or wooded, so it was a relaxing, fun round.

Coupled with the Lincoln Parks and Douglass Park, Springfield is a great place to spend the day disc golfing!

UIS now has 18 holes! The new 9 add some length and challenge to the campus course, giving Springfield its fourth 18 hole course and one that is quite different from the other three. While the beauty of mature oaks won't be found here, it's a pretty setting among pines and young hardwoods. The concrete tee pads are nice, although a bit on the short side. Attractive signs are fastened flat on the tee pads and the baskets are new and numbered. There is only one tee and one pin placement per hole.

The layout is a basic loop design, but there are some long walks between holes, as I will outline below. The terrain is used fairly well. There are no woods or water holes and just a wee bit of elevation. The holes themselves have been designed well. There are interesting shapes, a few multi-line holes and plenty of trees to navigate. While the course looks clean and clear of nasty rough, the big pines can be wicked if your disc gets buried beneath them. I came out bleeding after one such mis-throw. The strength of the new nine is more length. The original nine were pretty short, with three of the first four holes under 300 feet. Most of the new holes are closer to 400 feet. The course is heavy on hyzer shots, but there are some spots that call for some right turns too. There's not much risk/reward on the course and bad shots aren't penalized much, unless you rifle one into the pines. No holes stand out as particularly impressive, so it's not easy to come up with a signature hole. My personal favorites are #6, #8 and #15, although the most memorable may be #3, a lane through the pines that is a difficult three. #15 and #16 are fun short holes that should yield their share of skip aces.

I was disappointed that course designers didn't make use of the campus lake or its elevated banks. The short tee pads had me thinking about my footwork more than I should. I hate #9, a wide-open 830 foot hole that has no challenge beyond its sheer length. There are no "next tee" signs or naviagational aids. I don't believe the distances on the tee signs are all accurate. For example, it says that #13 is over 500 feet when it can't be any more than 400. There's not much shade, no benches and you would have to go into a campus building for water or restrooms.

There are several places on the course where you can't really tell where the next tee is. The following navigational tips are the main reason I'm writing this reiview. (Note: When you play the long hole, notice #16 and #17 to your right.)

1) Tee #7 - As you approach basket #6, notice the road to the left. You need to cross this road and then walk to the left until you see tee boxes for #7 and #18 (remember #18 for later)
2) Tee #10 - There's a bike trail behind #9 basket. Take a left and go through the tunnel under the road to next tee.
3) Tee # 15 - Cross the road and walk toward the left and slightly uphill toward the northeast corner of the lake and you will see the tee.
4) Tee # 16 - Go back to the bike path and take a left. Tee is past the yellow posts across the path.
5) Tee #17 - Keep walking west after you finish #16 as if you were playing the long hole backwards.
6) Tee #18 - Remember seeing it back by #7 tee? Walk west toward the road

UIS isn't a spectacular course, but it's a fun, change-of-pace alternative to Springfield's park courses. And it's the only couse on the south end of town. While Lincoln Park South is worth a special trip to the Capitol City, UIS is one to play if you're already in town.