- Course is set in a massive park, with lots of space to work with. Almost no other park activities to worry about, just park users really. Decent elevation changes, mostly rolling hills as opposed to big slopes.
- The obvious feature that sticks out in this park is the large amount of water to contend with, in the form of multiple large lakes. There are holes with water on the left, water on the right, water to the left and right, water behind the basket, and a water-only fairway. This provides for very striking risk-reward situations, in many different ways. While there is usually a "safe" landing zone, it is either sandwiched between two bodies of water, or one body of water and some thick rough. Plenty of downhill shots towards the water as well, these require near pinpoint accuracy to get close enough to putt without shooting past.
- Good amount of holes that are clear of the water as well, or far enough away, to relax a little and be more aggressive. These usually have rolling hills, up, down, and side-to-side, with plenty of mature trees to get around. The terrain here is pretty uniform, especially near the front and the back, but the holes are pretty unique and do not get stale. And, there is always the threat of a rollaway towards the drink, either from a poor landing angle or an unlucky tree hit.
- Course is rounded out well with some holes in denser forest. One of these is a nice uphill tunnel shot, that narrows more as it gets near the top, with dense rough on all sides. Another is a downhill tunnel shot, which is a lot more forgiving. Most other holes border this rough-filled area, requiring some line shaping to stay clear.
- Lots of extra OB on the "easier" holes to keep things interesting. While I usually am not a big fan of this, just for the fact that it is man-made road/parking blocks, it does add good challenge to otherwise straightforward holes.
- Hole #5
- Great teepads, baskets, and signs. Navigation is a bit tricky, studying the map or getting a scorecard is a very good idea the first time through.

- A few holes lack the excitement and pizazz of all the others, but in that way become fresh. After getting hammered by a few of the beasts on this course, a nice ace run or safe fairway is a welcome treat.
- A major bonus would be some designated drop zones here and there. Just nit-picking; it would be good to see, not at all necessary.
- After playing on a nice summer day, the conflicts with the other park users are much more apparent. A few holes, like #13 and #14, play very close to a pavilion, and holes #10 and #11 by a picnic area.

- Welcome to some championship level disc golf, especially from the pro tees. Apart from a few "easy" holes, almost every shot, from the tee to the bucket, has to be executed nearly perfectly. Great use of water as a hazard; combined with a few trees and some dense rough, it really makes shot placement a big deal. No need to rely on super-tight fairways or impossible lines at this course (although there are some).
- Some 18+ hole courses get a little old, or some of the holes feel tacked on, not here. Great variety makes every hole matter.

A huge multiuse lake park with many other activities available: Camping, fishing, swimming, paddle boat rental, playgrounds, and etc. Very beautiful park. Tree's marked through area identified for Children's Forest activities (tree identifying). Because of the courses multiuse, it is always maintained. Two gentleman were mowing when we were throwing on hole 2, they parked off to the side and waited for us to finish, they didn't have to but they did. That's worth noting.

PRO CALIBER COURSE!! This course will definitely challenge you.

Multiple tees. Nice looking signs with good information. Concrete tee pads, for both pro and am. 24 holes. Lots of water holes. Elevation usage is great here. You won't be throwing straight up any ravines, but the usage of the land works well with the course. Blind pin placement, some due to elevation, some being down and around tree lined corridors. Lots of trees within park add to the difficulty of landing a shot correctly, sometimes a tree's canopy will punish you from getting your drives a bit high. There are some shorter holes to help keep the score going in the right direction, but those aren't gimmies either.

Due to the difficulty and length of the course, I think this is one of the lesser played parks in the QCA.

There really aren't many cons to note, but I will note a few minor things that come to mind.

The walk after finishing 19 over to 20 is odd, not sure if there is an actual trail through the rough, but we ended up walking back through part of 19 fairways. Same thing from 21 to 22.

Picnic areas on 10 and 11, though not an issue when I played, I could really see that as an issue on a weekend per say.

A few holes that really stuck out to me and were really fun: Hole 2 was a fantastic shot over a little water cove, into a tight opening as there is rough on the left and water on the right. Play it short, you're in the water, too long and you're in the water. 5 and 13 over the dam is unbelievable. I ended up playing from the am tees, and 5 was still brutal, with water on your right and trees on your left, the pin is also located near water so be careful on your upshot.

As others have stated, the elevation changes here are never ending. Most of the time you're either walking up or down a hill, it will take its toll by the end of your round. I slept like a baby that night.

With this courses beauty and epic holes, this truly is one of Iowa's best. As the word gets out, more and more people will have an opportunity to play this course, and I am sure that pro's, am, and rec's won't be disappointed.

1) Very nice signs with distances of both tees and Hole #. Made from recycled plastic so the only thing that will damage these is vandalism.

2) I enjoyed this course at dawn, noone was to be found except a bunch of jet black squirrels and one guy fishing down by Hole #22. It was a nice way to wake up after a long day of playing. I played a disc from both tees the whole way through and was beat by the end of the round, but I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and the wildlife.

3) Water comes into play as forced carried or lateral hazards running alongside the holes on multiple holes: 2, 4, 5, 13, 14, 19, 21, 22, 23. I hate risking losing discs (and I threw into the water 3 times and was able to recover them all), but I do enjoy trying to execute the shot.

4) Elevation is used tremendously well. There are downhillers that play 50-100' short of what they would on flat ground. There are uphillers that play much longer than their listed distance. There are some that follow the side slopes, and traverse some rolling hills. There are very few shots that are on dead flat ground on the entire course.

5) Practice Basket is available for warming up putts before your round. I just jumped right in to the DG and putted very well BTW, but it is always nice to have one designated practice basket.

6) Variety on this course is tremendous. There are all sorts of obstacles to avoid including the water, individual trees, buckthorn and natural area, tall grass, big concrete structures (#5, 13). You need to move your disc around different directions and throw dead straight at time. I love this sort of challenge to come up with your best possible chance to throw it close. I like having to mke decisions.

7) The park is filled with things to do, places to walk, boats to rent, camprgrounds to stay in, etc etc etc. It simply has everything at your disposal if you want it to. I go for the DG not the other amenities but it is always nice to have a place like this in such a massive well used park.

8) Multiple sets of tees really throws this course into overdrive if you want. I shot a 76 from the shorts and a 91 from the longs. The difference between the tees is more than just one extra throw however as there is more risk/reward decisions to think about. It isn't like the back tee is simply 150-250' straight back. Often times there is more of a forced carry, there may be extra trees in your way to knock you down, etc etc etc. Playing two sets of tees is virtually like playing 2 different courses because your drives from the back will probably not be right where the forward tee would be. You may be short of the forward tee still and be left with a much more difficult shot, or you may get an extra 50-100' past the short tee and it changes all the angles.

9) Well designed on this immense property. They certainly did a good job because of the amount of variety that is available on this course. There is very little danger between holes except perhaps the fairways of #5 and 13 running up the same 60' elevated plateau. Drives from either tee could easily end up crossing paths with other disc golfers or other discs being thrown from the opposite holes tees. Imagine a mid air collission with two discs, both end up in the water because they got on edge and rolled down into the water.

10) Garbage cans seemed to be plentiful but not necessarily with teepads, more just scattered throughout the park.

11) Someone else said there were bathrooms available, but I didnt even notice I guess because I just used the woods. Sorry for not paying attention but I will take them on their word and include it in my review for completeness.

1) Wondering why the basket area on #11 isn't mowed at all. It probably helps people more than it hurts because the discs running in hot will not skip they will simply get tangled in the talled prairie grass. And since there is only 15-20' of tall grass between the tee and basket, you likely will be saved inside the circle from a driver skipping way away.

2) Picnic area on #10 and 11 is in a bad spot. The benches are fairly spread out and there are grills in this area too, so if there is a picnic happening they are at risk of flying discs and likely unaware that they are in the middle of the disc golf course.

3) Road OB in a few spots is also a possible danger area for the cars.

4) Distances seemed correct with the teepads, but I wasn't sure on the tee signs if I understood this correctly. There were two concrete tees (on almost every hole), but there are 3 sets of tees listed. Not once did I see any sort of plaques, or in ground markers for a third set of tees, so i am not sure if this is for the future possibly, or if I simply missed seeing any of the thirs set of tees.

4) Some directionals could be helpful in a few areas of the course. Some of the paths that are cut through the woods simply need an arrow and a Hole # on them so new people know where they are supposed to go. Overall it wasn't devestatingly difficult to figure out, but for $20-30 they would easily have marked a few areas that could be confusing.

5) Not really beginner friendly without a really short third set of tees to aoid the water areas (but there stillw ould be water in play in a few places even with another shortened tee).

I really enjoyed this course and because I came into it knowing it was difficult and well appreciated, I played a disc from both tees. Man was I tired after 1 round. It took me 2 hours to play a disc from both sets of tees. I just couldn't pass up the 10,000 or so feet of the back tees.

I played 8 courses on my way from Milwaukee to Davenport the day before I started my day here. I went on to play both Camden's and realized at that point I needed a break. i was drenched in sweat from head to toe and so was my carseeat in between courses. I ended up needing about 2 hours after the three course to just rest in the hotel AC and went back out to play 2 more courses. What a way to start day two of my marathon! Anyways I loved it but am so glad I went at dawn. The park opens at 6 which is nice. Noone was in my way, and I only saw 3 or 4 people the entire round and none were disc golfing which is sacriligious for a sunday morning if you ask me, I dont care what denomination you are. Sunday mornings are for DG.

The course plays through a beautiful hilly park with heavy woods, nice elevation changes and lots of great water hazards. The elevation makes for some tough uphill shots, and some just as tough downhill holes. The woods make for tough punishment on errant drives, and will often cost at least a stroke for missing your line. I've never played a course with so many water hazards, and every one is different. There are holes with water on one side, holes playing across a narrow dam with drops to the water on both sides, and holes that require a water carry off the tee. This makes for some awesome risk/reward decisions.

There is an awesome variety here, with a couple shorter holes to give you a little break, some reachable but longer holes, and a few long ripper holes that tempt you to throw a big drive but punish poor execution. There is also a great variety of hole shapes, you'll need to throw every shot you have if you want to score well here. There are some tightly wooded holes, and some more open park style holes, but not too many that really feel wide open or boring.

There are dual concrete tee pads that are large and well textured. The short tees make it a more approachable course for players other than the top pros, but are still challenging and interesting and don't lose the feeling of the course. There is good signage with distances from both pads, and there isn't too much question of where to throw.

There are several areas on the course that come into conflict with picnic areas and park roads that can make for some safety issues and some waits for fairways to clear. Several of the water holes are apparently favorite fishing spots as well, so you might have to avoid some fishermen who aren't interested in watching for shots headed their way.

There are lots of blind holes, and the tee signs aren't descriptive enough to always know where to throw and will need to do some extra walking and possibly some spotting. There are a couple places on the course where navigation is not at all obvious, some next tee signs would be a huge help here.

This is a fantastic course, and will challenge any level of player. There is tons of variety and risk here making for a lot of shots that make you really think about what to do. Newer players will find the course a little tough and punishing, and are likely to lose some plastic. More experienced players will find the short tees challenging and the longs downright tough, and will be tested to hit all kinds of different lines. This is the best of a nice collection of courses in the area, and definitely worth a trip.

-2 sets of tee's
-Concrete Boxes, Excellent signs w/maps. *fyi Whether it's from this site, or the course website, get a map. This will help with navigation issues.
-The course navigates nicely around the park, with the exception of a couple of holes. (Map recommended. See Links/Files tab)
-Great use of the terrain and the Dam:
-Steep hills, up and down, that play in and around the woods. As well as having a spectacular drive off the side of the Dam. (#5 see picture)
-Bathrooms located throughout the course, as well as trash cans
-Shelters, which will offer a nice place to take a break. Don't underestimate the fact that you will probably need one.
-Designed for regular players to professionals. West Lake could be very rough on the beginning player, it's not beginner friendly. ...or even beginner accommodating! Since there are a number of beginner friendly courses in the Quad City area, I am fine with this being a tougher course. Bring on the challenge!
-Plenty of hazards that will require a lengthy carry over water. (Bring discs that you are willing to part with. Note the plural)
-Three of the advance tee's have a distance of 800+ feet and one that is 780ft.
-The rec tee's should not to be confused for amateur tee's. They require hefty distance drives, and strategic approaches. They also carry a risk on the water shots.
-West Lake is an endurance course that will have you traversing up and down some big hills. You will want to bring plenty of liquid, and possibly an energy snack of some kind.
-West Lake is a destination course and will take 3-4 hours to complete. If you plan on playing other courses, consider the time and energy it will take to play here. You will be tired after playing here.
-The scenery here is spectacular. You will be playing around the lake, and along hillsides. You may want to bring a camera.

I know I'm repeating what has already been said, but one downside is that the course is not segregated from the other park goers. It plays near shelters, a ball field and common areas where gatherings are being held. You could find yourself playing a mando around a family reunion. The flip side to this, is that West Lake is in an area where Disc Golf is well recognized. So the people here know what's going on. ...for the most part.

This downside may not seem like much, and it's really circumstantial. The Tee Markers are only located near the long tee's. I played here during the winter and the short tee's were hidden under the snow and nearly impossible to locate. That meant we had to play from the long tee's in winter apparel. Needless to say, it was a rough game.

UPDATE REGARDING RATING BUMP: After playing Idlewild, I realized that there are similarities in the cons. Albeit West Lake has more interactions with Park Goers, Idlewild is not exempt from this interaction either. This course is a top notch course. The layout here is immense, and the challenge is extreme. This course is worthy of a 5 disc rating.

What a phenomenal course! You will want to be adequately prepared for this course. You may want to break out some hiking shoes, because you will be trekking up and down steep hills. ...quite frequently! You will also want to bring some food and plenty of liquids. It took me and a friend just over 4 hours to play here. So you may want to plan accordingly, if you are planning on hitting multiple courses in the QC area. West Lake is out of town aways, and I didn't pass many places to "grab a bite" on the way in.

At West Lake you will be required to throw a variety of shots, with various approaches. Water is also a factor on many a hole, so approach with care. West Lake has a wide variety of shots, from narrow timber shots to wide open hillside. The last 6 holes will absolutely push your stamina, as you will walk up a steep hill, and right back down, then back up again, and so on. I was physically exhausted when I finished West Lake.

Do not discount the recreational tee. It's doesn't mean beginner, it still carries a hefty challenge. Both tee's, advanced and recreational, have lengthy drives and require a strategic approach. In some cases validating the old saying "It's all about the second shot". West Lake will not disappoint, but it will challenge you physically and mentally. There are a few hillside drives, that will give you the opportunity to "Air it out, and let it fly".

FWIW to those that will play from the rec tee's: Take a disc you don't care about, and drive from the #5 Pro tee, which throws off the top of the dam. (again, see the pics) There is a chance you will lose the disc, but it is worth risking a disc to watch it fly like that!

What a ridiculous course - literally the hardest course I have ever played (which includes Idlewild, Highbridge Gold, etc). The course has so much variety, and extreme water and elevation. There's no question about it - this course is only for excellent players. If you are an amateur then this course will spit you out. Holes 5 and 13 go across the damn and offer some of the most challenging and daunting disc golf shots imaginable. The second shots to both 5 and 13 (from the pro tees, which I would advise only playing if you can afford to lose plastic - but if you can afford it, then do it) are so awesome. 350 to 400 foot shots to a small sliver land guarded by water. Hole 18 is just sick - 800 feet dogleg left through a tight tunnel. If it was a hundred feet farther I would rate it a par 6. Hole 19 is one of the signature holes, as you have to throw over a lake to a 15 foot wide island. Holes 20 and 21 are two of the hardest back to back holes I have ever played - hole 20 is an uphill 550 feet dagger through the woods, and hole 21 is a 650 foot downhill dogleg right, with a scary second shot. The green is 90 degrees to the right at the bottom of the hill, bordered by the lake. I have only discussed a few of the holes at this course - if not for a few cons which I will address, this course would be a top five course.

It wasn't a con for me, but this course isn't even hard - it's impossible. You will lose discs. I played with a friend of mine and we lost five discs in the water and 2 more were thrown into the water and retrieved (beautiful Hydra). The only con I have is that two of the holes were completely unplayable when we were there. The fairways on two of the holes went right through picnic areas with grills, tables, etc, and made the holes basically unplayable. Also, holes 9-11 seemed to be just tossed into the design. They seeme to be easy filler holes - however, that wasn't such a bad thing because the rest of the course was so epically awesome.

Having 24 holes is a definite plus, but there were a few holes that seemed to be out of place with the rest of the course. The only thing keeping this course from a 5 rating are the two holes that were unplayable because the fairways went straight through picnic areas. Besides that issue, this course is simply epic.

This course has everything except a bunch of technical wooded holes.
Extreme elevation everywhere. (But, not used like many ski hill courses where this is the only consideration; and becomes boring after a while).
Extreme water everywhere. (On some holes; this comes into play on the first shot; on some holes, the second shot; and some holes; three or more shots.)
Great signage; good tees; scorecards almost always present.
This is the highest review I have given to a course; and it deserves it.
In conjunction with Camden 2 (the other side), Devil's Glen (pins in long position), Middle Park, and Butterworth (a good nine); this makes for one of the best disc golfing meccas I have ever had the pleasure of playing. (And Eastern Park is probably the most played course in the area!)

The only downside to this course is it's multiuseness. Quite a few holes play near picnic tables or a pavilion. (A couple of holes involve going over large picnic table areas; which adds an obstacle feel to these holes). Fisherman have actually been the folks you need to play around during my trips here. Though the design plays near the picnic areas and pavilion or two; these areas seem to me to have been designed in such a way that the two coexist well.
You will lose plastic on this course....bring discs you don't mind losing; or, be prepared to part with a favorite or two.

So, I have waited until my third trip here to review. The last one; we used this course as a site for a 35 person/four team tourney (representing three states). There was not a bad word said about this course from 35 players of all ability levels. Pros enjoyed it; ams enjoyed it; older age players enjoyed it; our women even enjoyed it. We allowed lesser seeded players to play some or all short tees. The difference of tees allows good opportunity for skill level differences. Water still comes into play on many holes from short tees.
This area is known/unknown. The ladies recently played their U.S. championships here. But, only 51 showed up. This seems to be the case here. The area is highly respected in some circles and yet not played heavily. This is a bonus!!!! You can come to these absolutely wonderful courses and not be overwelmed by numbers of players.
You will have never played a course with so much water in play!! This course will drag you around for a minimum of four hours; you will lose one to five discs and you WILL WANT TO COME BACK TO PLAY IT AGAIN.
The camp ground here is excellent. Plan a four day weekend to play here as well as the others mentioned and you will not be disappointed. Also, add Eagle River course in Clinton, IA, and you will be playing 6 championship level courses in one area!

The setting for this course is a beautiful, expansive county park with multiple lakes, hiking trails, picnicing facilities, swim beach and many other amenities.
The dg course has many pros including:
-Good facilities (bathrooms (except in winter), water, shelters, ample parking, practice basket, and scorecards at kiosk by hole 16 (you drive past it on the way to the parking lot), at campsite, and online at http://www.qcdiscgolfclub.com.../westlake.php
-2 teeboxes per hole with good signage
-Course utilizes landscape really well: many uphill holes, downhill holes, flat holes, tunnel, wide open, and sculpted, tree lined fairways.
-LOTS of OB: 9 water holes, and a few road OB holes.
-Many multishot, true par 4 and par 5 holes. Especially 5, 13 (dam holes), 15, and 18, 21, 22. These are all holes where at least 2 big drives are needed. Many other holes are tough 3s from the longs especially.
-Hard to figure out which hole is the signature hole.
-Not crowded at all (averages like 2 groups a day probably)
-Easy to navigate except in noted spots (see cons)
-Fairways are well maintained

-Park is definitely multiuse and some holes will be unplayable in the afternoon. Especially 6, 10 and 11, also watch for fishermen on all water holes
-A lot of thick rough that eats discs, stay out of the rough if at all possible.
-A round from the longs here is extremely grueling as you will be throwing anywhere from 70-120 shots depending on your skill level.
-Navigation from 19-20 sucks, after you play 19 you have to walk back down 19's fairway, to the red tees and hang a sharp right and head up the hill.

This course is great, if it were played by more reviewers, I have no doubt that it would be in the top 20 in the nation. It is extremely brutal though and if you don't like taking 6s, 7s , 8s without OB on holes, you will hate this course. Be prepared to shoot in the 90's or over here, unless you're really good. I also would not play this course by yourself, it helps to have a spotter. Play in the morning before the picnicers come if you want to play all 24 holes.

The back 12 is absolutely brutal from the blues

24 brutally challenging holes. All the length you'll ever want and then some. A ton of water coming in to play. This course will work every facet of your game. From super tight fairway shots and brutal rough to more open 'let-it-rip' par 4's where OB comes into play.

This thing is just too much to bite off in 1 round of golf. The water shots are so perilous that its tough to get in a round without losing a disc. Not to mention the brutal rough on some blind shots where you can lose one. Then you've got the incredible distance of the holes combined with the fact that there are 24 of them. Its a tiring day throwing your disc 80+ times in 1 round here. And the shots demand your absolute focus or you may be looking.

Some of the shots on this course are really alot of fun, I just wish it was an 18 holer. This course will really work every part of your game. Its a fantastic championship 24 hole layout, just probably not something you'll play casually on a daily basis. Expect to spend a few hours out here and a few discs if you want to take on the beast!

very hard with multiple tees. this course will test every aspect of your game. two large lakes come into play on most holes. two shots play over a water dam. lots of elevation change. some wooded.

not for beginners

this is one of the best courses I've played. play smart and don't let the water get to you and you'll have a great round. i didn't go into the water once or loose any discs.

Very hard course. Lots and Lots of water. Very well laid out.

I'm not nearly good enough to play this course consistenty.

Make sure you bring extra discs to this course. This may be the toughest course in the Quad Cities.