Tee signs and Tee pads for every hole
Good DD Vet baskets
Great use of the elevation
Good use of the trees and natural fairways

This course is a monster for an Am or lower player
A couple of long open bomber holes

This course is well worth the price of admission ($5) I play them all and don't aways look up the reviews or description of courses. I had no idea I was heading here to play a championship level course.

I was not all that happy about the location of hole 1, I was worried the full course was going to be all over the place, but after hole 1, the course flow was decent enough and mostly easy to follow.

There are several holes that you can't see the basket from the tee. Some like hole 7 are on the next hill over, though the woods. Another hole has you throwing from one hill and over the next hill way over 1000ft. Needless to say, I took a 6 on hole 7 and was very happy with my 5 on the 1000ft hole.

There is a 9 hole ball golf course here that is maintained with better mowing. It has old school hard sand greens. But it did not look like it gets used much, and the check in log only had disc golfers listed that I could see.

This is a course that you really need to play once before you attempt to shoot well on it. So many holes are true par 4's and even a couple of par 5's for most of us. Although I would like to see a Simon throw a giant anti at hole 7 over the woods.

Would I play here again? Oh yea. while mostly open, this course is VERY challenging and not because it has some long holes. Disc placement is very important.

First off, there's detailed tee signs, concrete tees, Dynamic Veteran baskets, and flags on the baskets (some holes would be blind, but the flags stick up above the trees so that you know where the basket's at).

There's a great variety of holes, ranging from a 200 ft tunnel shot to an 1,100 ft par 5 on this (true) par 63, 8,500 ft course. There's a nice mix of par 4's and par 5's. Those plus even some of the par 3's force you to actually play golf and focus on landing in a good spot to set up your next shot (as opposed to being birdie or die like so many other courses).

There's a lot of elevation changes. Hole 16 for example is a par 4 with a huge downhill shot followed up by throwing back up the hill to the left.

There's every type of shot conceivable. Wide open bomber, shots around large mature trees, uphill, downhill, tunnel shots, downhill then through a tunnel of trees then back uphill again. Hole 13 requires you to clear a stone wall 300 ft from the tee before your second shot is into a technical, downward-sloped green, holes where going over the top is a really good strategy. To score well here, you have to throw far, but you still have to place your shots carefully, too.

This course is in a state park, so you will need a $5 parking pass.

The tees are a little bit short. I don't have a super long run-up, but I found myself starting a couple steps behind the concrete pad on most holes.

A lot of the trees are cedar trees, so you could find yourself looking for discs. There were paths mowed through the grass which definitely made navigation pretty good, but it makes me wonder if mowing may not be super regular during the summer.

On some of the par 4's and par 5's, just by nature of their length, you can't see the basket from the tee, but it's usually fairly evident where you need to throw to start the hole.

You have to cross a park road in-between holes twice.

I did notice some poison ivy in spots.

This was the 71st course that I've played, and I would say that here and Branson Trails (blue) are the two best I've seen so far with Branson Cedars Treehouz and Longview DGC not too terribly far behind.

It is 100% worth the $5 parking pass and going a little out of your way (it's probably 30-45 min North of I-70) to play here. That being said, I would think twice if it's super, super windy or if you're out of shape or have health problems because the length and elevation changes make it a good hike.

I played here during some free time at the start of finals week, and I really enjoyed playing here. Next school year, I will definitely make the drive up here every once in a while instead of playing at Fairmont, Warner, or Tuttle (doesn't hurt that it's nowhere near as busy up here).

It has baskets and tee pads.

Little to no maintenance done to this course since it opened. Four of us played and average time looking for discs each hole was 10-15 min. I would not recommend this course to anyone until some serious work is put into making this an actual playable course.

This is an incredibly challenging course that shares its space with an old ball golf course, although I've never actually seen anyone playing ball golf while out there.
You're really going to use every shot in your bag, and each hole provides different routes and opportunities for different skill levels of players.
Lots of elevation changes.
Great quality baskets.
Concrete teepads exist.
Most of the holes have accurate signage, although a few of the holes the signs have fallen down.
A really big range of hole lengths, with the shortest two coming in at about 200, and the longest coming in at a whopper of 1,111 ft. Most are probably smack dab in the middle of that in the 300-400 range.
When I say this course is challenging, I mean it! You will learn a ton about your disc golf game by playing here. There are places where playing it safe pays off, but also places where if you don't take a risk, you could end up with an even BIGGER score than if you do.
University Park is a great place to come out and get your butt kicked, and not feel bad about leaving with a 10+ over par.

While the challenge is great, it prevents it from being an every-day course in my lineup in the way that some of the courses in town in Manhattan are. I really only come play UP if I'm ready to get roughed up by a course.
The rough is VERY rough. The cedar trees which constitute the rough for most holes can really tear you up, and there are plenty of opportunities for your disc go find itself there.
The course is a hell of a hike. I can't imagine playing this course twice in one day.
While the concrete teepads are great throughout, they are maybe just a wee short, which can be tricky given that this course requires monster drives.
If you can't drive over 300 ft (curse you my 290 ft arm!), there are some holes that are a little inaccessible. Hole 12 is a monster of a hole, and if you don't have a 300+ ft drive you're going to have a bad time. It's immediately followed by a hole with a rock wall 300 ft out, that the posted rules stipulate you must clear or head to the drop zone to throw for 3. A bit frustrating for players right at the edge of that distance level (cough, me, cough).
Hole 7. It's a par 5 that most people I know took an 11 on their first time playing it. You play down into a valley, then through some of the thickest woods on the course, then up a big hill, and around a tree. This is the hole that can make you want to rage quit disc golf if it goes poorly for you. For someone without a giant arm, you almost HAVE to cut this hole into 5 perfectly placed shots, and any movement astray in the woods will leave you in some serious rough without much of a line out.
Hole 7 will eat you up, and then is immediately followed by tricky hole 8 with a giant blind drop into the woods which can also be a big challenge if you're not great at going over the top.

My above comments about the really challenging holes are something I almost wanted to mention as both a pro and a con. They are part of what makes this course challenging, which is part of what makes it great. But they can also be disheartening for rec and intermediate players. If you come into it with a positive attitude and a lack of concern for the fact that your score is about to be blown up, UP is a really awesome course to become a better disc golf player on.

-Great use of property.
-Good variety of open and tight and up and down shots.
- Elevation shots definitely affected by the wind, makes several holes more challenging.
- Really enjoyed the balance of par 3 (11), par 4 (4), and par 5 (3).
-Good tee signs with direction to the next hole.
- Challenging pin placements just over the crest of hills on several holes.

-Pine/Cedar trees tend to catch/eat a lot of discs. I had 2 disc get caught in cedar trees on my round.
-Hole 10 is a blind left to right tee shot with several larger bushy cedar trees that make it pure luck to not be caught or deep in a tree.
- Hole 15 tee is hard to find even with the tee sign markers. It also crosses 16's fairway to get to the tee pad.
- Only two left to right shaped holes.
- Tee pads are a bit on the short side 8-10ft.

I really enjoyed this course especially with the balance of par 3, 4, and 5. I played in late December with a little snow still on the ground while I was back visiting family for Christmas. I had a ton of fun playing even though it was 25F outside. Thankfully, not too much wind when I played. It's a good compliment to the other course in the Manhattan area. I am definitely looking forward to playing the course again during the spring and summer to see what it looks like.

I thought I was going to roll into town and have a nice round at University Park, maybe get some lunch then go on to the next course. Long story short, it wasn't so nice. A couple of hours later I left with a tired arm and an embarrassingly high score.

On the grounds of an old ball golf course I kept having the feeling I would be clocked by a Titleist, but it never happened. The fairways are mostly very roomy, but you can count on weaving around some good sized trees and traversing the rolling hills that create nice elevation changes.

Often you will not see a basket and be shooting blind. This is tricky for a first time player on the course, and I only put it under pros since it adds to the difficulty. It was frustrating not knowing exactly where I wanted to put my drive off of the tee, and not wanting to walk those longer holes more than once.

There are also some shorter holes where you can grab a quick birdie two. They tend to have a little more growing around them than grass, but nothing over the top.

The equipment was good, with freshly set concrete tees, along with signs and good baskets. Maintenance should be ok being on the grounds of a golf course I would think. The pay station is near the parking area, and it accepts quarters, lucky for me.

The pay to play aspect is a bit of a bummer, but if you need to get out on a different course it is a good option in the Manhattan area.

I wrote about the blind drives, and even had a blind second shot on at least one of the longer holes. It would be a bonus to bring along someone familiar with the layout if you've never been there before. The link to the map is pretty good so at least bring a copy of that.

I wish I had taken better notes or some pictures I could upload, but they will have to wait for another time. A return to University Park is not something I will rule out. The five dollars is a fair price, and I still have more new courses to play around Manhattan.

I will return with only one goal: Don't score in the 80's. I made 4 birdies and was still 21 over par. I had an 11 on the seventh hole, and an 8 on the twelfth. Pitiful. Wind didn't help me, but I can't blame it all on that. Conditions were not that bad, weather wise. Need to check what condition my condition was in.

This course has a great mix of shots! I am a RHBH player and UP makes me throw a lot of hyzers as well as alot of anhyzers. If I could throw rollers I would have to do this as well. The course is very long which allows you to be able to go and crush your drives! Bring your A game to this course!

No pads or signs as of yet. But with a map it is very easy to follow. This course makes me feel out of shape haha.