The friend that took me to Washington Park DGC described it as being very open, and therefore I thought that I was in store for a boring round, but I quickly realized that this course would offer a lot of fun shots when I got to the first tee and saw a nice big drive with some interesting obstacles making me think about my throw! Enjoyable features of the course:

*Good variety of distances, with two sets of tees (though the shorter tees seemed to be the only concrete ones)

*Every hole had at least a moderate amount of challenging obstacles

*Very large, nice park

*Probably will not lose a disc at this course

This course isn't a championship caliber course because

*The pro tees aren't concrete!

*The holes are easy enought that an experienced dg-er can easily go into a round expecting to get a few deuces (from the concrete tees), which kind of made me feel less happy about getting them

*Signage was not perfect... no indication of the fairway or picture of the hole, and some of them seemed slightly inaccurate

In all, I really enjoyed this course. It was pleasant disc golf where I could let loose a couple drives and try some interesting lines. It was exciting to have a few ace runs, but also exciting to have a few holes where a three was not easy. In all, a very fun round!

A well maintained park that is fun to play, especially if you are a beginner.

Not many obstacles to avoid.

If your looking for a good challenge I would consider another course. It's an easy course compared to some of the others in the area.

I agree with the other reviews. This is a nice course (not to mention Park) that is very well maintained. The baskets and tees are in great condition. I can see where an experienced player might not feel challenged by this course, but I am the "newbie" they are referring to. As such, I can't think of a better course to learn on. I found it both challenging, yet forgiving.

I don't have any Cons to add that haven't already been covered. And yes, hole 16 was soft when I went through also!

I printed off a map from this site as well as from Washington Park's web site, and they did come in handy. There were a few times I had to refer to the map to find the next tee. However, apparently they have moved the basket for hole 17. The actual location didn't match either map, which had it near the playground equipment. Instead, it is near the parking lot by the 18th basket. It made the hole noticeably longer than listed. Still, I figured it out.

-Very, very well maintained. This course is laid out over a beautiful park with playgrounds (which aren't in the way at all) and volleyball courts, etc. It was nice to play here.
-The baskets seem to be very, very new and in pristine condition, as are the tee pads.
-It's obvious that there's a disc golf community here that really care about the sport and the coures.
-The grass was beautiful here.
-Very easy to find and navigate.

-The whole park had the same length grass which made it seem like the whole course was a fairway. -It was kind of boring because a lot of the holes were just throw it straight at the basket because there aren't a lot of obstacles here.
-Hole 16 was very swampy when I played. It was basically pure mud.

I drove out here from Normal to check out some of the courses in Peoria. I was very happy about the condition of the course but I probably won't come back to the Washington one because it's a very easy course. I also lost my Flick here on hole #12.

-By far the easiest 18 holer in the Peoria area.
-Lots of deuce/ace opportunities.
-Very well taken care of city park. Probably the nicest "fairways" in the area.
-Concrete tees and good tee signs.
-Baskets are permanent (which I consider a pro), so you always know what the layout is.

-This course seems to funnel in the wind. If it is a windy day, it will be very windy here.
-The last time I played, the baskets were pretty crappy. I heard a rumor they were going to be replaced, but I can't say for sure.
***EDIT: As of May 2009, I have been told that there are new baskets installed!

-Lots of paths with bikers and walkers that you may have to wait on. The occasional picnickers in the middle of the fairway, too.

As I said in the title, this would definitely be consider a beginner course, but it is a nicer course than any other beginner course I've played. The design makes good use of the trees available to give each hole some obstacle (though a couple are pretty simple). One complaint I have is that there aren't quite enough trees to properly "punish" a bad shot. An errant drive really just gives up the birdie, with a par usually being easy enough to save.

Tall pine trees that border the course on two sides add to the challenge and represents the easiest way to lose a disc here. There isn't a lot of elevation change, but there seems to be a couple more downhill holes than uphill, including the longest hole (#12) that plays roughly 50 ft shorter than it is. Overall, someone who can throw 300-325 ft consistently should have a reasonable shot at birding every hole on a good drive with the exception of #1 and maybe a couple of others. Someone who can only throw 225-250 will still get a deuce every now and then.

For better or worse, this course tends to artificially inflate my ego. After all, this was the first course I finished under par at, and I'm sure I've had more birdies here than any other course. But no worries; if you feel you need to be taken down a peg or two, just make the drive over to McNaughton Park.