Good hole design
Technical
Elevation changes
Fairly dry even after getting tons of rain
Installed in 1979 and still enjoyable. Would be fun to play with pre-bevel discs

Terrible navigation
No course map
Interstate noise (course on the Interstate shoulder)
Garbage - EVERYWHERE! Broken glass and trash everywhere.
Creek had dead animals and garbage in it (disc goes in there, just leave it)
Par is way too soft, but expected for the age

Felt like I needed to take a shower with bleach and then set myself on fire to get rid of the nastiness of that course.
Adding arrows pointing to the next tee at each basket would be extremely useful.

All the garbage would have to be cleaned up before I would want to play here again.

.
**The first course in Illinois
**STILL Standing the test of time
**Still a VERY fun course to play
**Good use of elevation
**Hole #2 is the signature hole for sure
**Good variety of shots
**Still a BLAST to play even with the navigation issues

.
**COME ON Joliet Park District...Spend a little bit of money on EROSION CONTROL...
** You walk up to the first tee and the concrete park bench seat hits you above the waist it's sooo eroded away.
**LOTS of EROSION issues with this course.
**Several of the tees are eroded away by at least a foot ! ! !
**Would score LOTS higher with Concrete Pads and some erosion control

.
*****The GPS coordinates found here for this course are for Hole 1 which is like a couple hundred feet from I80. My GPS said I had reached my destination right on I80.
FOLLOW THE WRITTEN DIRECTIONS HERE FOR EXIT NUMBER AND HOW TO GET THERE*****
**Hey J-Town Disc Golf Club...Can someone make a course map and post it here, That would sure help newbies find their way around???
**Several places where we could and did get lost, only some help from the locals kept us going in the right direction.
**From hole 8 to 9??? Who's going to figure that out without some help???

Let be start off by saying that this is the oldest courae in illinois and that makes it good in some ways, but bad in others.
-Has a good use of elevation for the land available. (holes 2 & 16 are some fun downhill shots with a significant drop)
-This is a very fun course I believe it was a steady ed design. At least the original design was.
-Good mix of holes: left, right, uphill, downhill and all in between.
-There are some bodies of water and flowing creeks that sometimes can come to play on an errant shot. Water holes are always a plus on courses, though these arent the best water holes they add some fun to it.
-Some holes have multiple teepads which change up some of the shots and not just by adding length.
-Rough is not that bad here. Most likely not going to lose discs due to errant shots.
-Some good pin placements on the edge of creeks or close to OB roads.
-Has a good amount of OB streets and pavement in play to and to holes.

-Old signs which some are vandalized.
-The baskets are not the best, but not the worst either.
-The tees here are natural and horrible. Most are rutted, some have sharp rocks sticking up from them. They especially get bad when it rains or icy in the winter.
-Huge groups of 10+ kids play here in the summer who can get annoying when they think you shouldnt play through.
-Flow is not the best. After 8 you have to walk all the way back down the fairway to get to 9. Also you must cross some.other fairways to get to another hole. Whoch could lead to getting it in the way of other groups or getting injured.
-You can tell it was designed for lids back in the day from most of the shorter holes 200ft and under.

For as being as old as this course is, I always have fun and enjoy a round here. When I first starting playing I loved coming to this course and still enjoy it. Its not the hardest course but offers some very fun shots. If the teepads were better, this place could have much more to offer and I would bump the rating up. Having good even tees is a must imho. If your looking to warm up for one of the harder courses in the area or want to enjoy a fun doubles game this is the place to come.

You have to love old courses that still hold up as good courses today. West Park is that kind of course. It has a nice mix of hyzer and anhyzer shots, plays though some heavy woods and some moderately wooded areas, and has a nice use of the available elevation. It's a putter/Roc course with not much in the way of long shots other than # 11, so it's not going to be on the top of the big guns list of places to play. For the rest of us it is a nice challenge that can provide a good round for a wide range of skill levels. There are some cool elevated shots like # 2 that are just plain fun to throw. The baskets have recently been updated. Despite its age and the lack of distance, it's still a solid course.

The tees are horrid. They are nothing more that rutted, uneven patches of dirt; some have the added bonus of roots and/or rocks poking out. Courses that are as heavily played as West Park really can't get away with natural tees.

The design is not top-notch. The shots shoot back and forth in places, which means look out because a disc might be headed at you at any time. A lot of the tees and baskets are pretty close together, which was common back in the lid days when this course was designed but not a great idea today. At one point the design has you shoot #8, then walk all the way up the fairway past the #8 tee another couple hundred feet before you find the tee for #9. There are 24 holes, and a lot of them are similar in design and distance. They get pretty repetitive after a bit. As with every old course with good elevation, there are erosion issues and the course can get slippery when it's wet.

The first time I traveled to the Chicagoland area for golf in the 90's, West Park and Channahon were THE places to play. Now these courses are eclipsed by Highland, Mokena, and Lemon Lake as the destination courses in the area. However, they still have a lot of life left in them. West Park remains one of the busiest courses in the area and holds up well as a fun course to play.

This course was a lot of fun. It offers up a variety of shots, which is something, sadly, few other courses in the area do. The elevation changes and landscape in the area are used wonderfully. This provides a lovable risk/reward situation on many holes (2 and 16) in particular. It also has several challenging distance holes for you big arms out there. The original-looking signs really help the "classic" feel of the course. The course is also pretty long, which I enjoy because I can feel satisfied after one game through these 24 holes, instead of playing 18 twice somewhere else, and it getting repetitive.

I really don't like the dirt tee pads with the concrete posts, very big turn off for me. Though, it was hilarious to watch a buddy of mine slip and fall on his rear after teeing off. The course could also do with better marking, a few of the holes seem impossible to find without being told or following someone. In particular, hole 8 tees off one direction, then you have to turn around walk back past the tee for 8 and around a large bend of trees to get to the tee for 9. I don't know how long it would've taken me to find that had I not been with someone who knew the course. Also, the graffiti on everything in the park is an eyesore. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy good graffiti art when done well, but the writing all over the benches, or one color poorly scribbled words on bridges and pieces of concrete is NOT art.

All in all, a definite must play in the area. The major flaws in the course are cosmetic (minus the dirt tees) and shouldn't stop you from playing here and experiencing West Park.

For being the first permanent course in Illinois, West Park is holding it's own in pretty grand style.

We had snow; so beat areas were largely unseen.

24 holes....Two sets of tees on a number of holes.

Club members did have tees cleared; though the steep steps here were not cleared as well as other courses in the area. No one took a spill; but they were a bit scary.
(Lewis University and Trinity Links also had wonderful staircases put in steep hills. Person's responsible for any of these; are made of pure awesomsuceness. Do not take any of these stairways for granted. The climbs on the hills with stairs would be horrendous; as would erosion; if not for these well made walkways. West's stairways were the roll model for the rest; evidently, but were well done.)

Nice variation from short to long; nice elevation changes throughout; recently updated discatcher baskets and great use of o.b. areas; are a few more pros that contribute to a good feeling here.

O.B. especially struck me as well done. Creek in play on a number of holes. Also, a parking lot; that appears to never have cars in it; is in play on two more holes (#4 and?), I believe. Some road in play.... A couple of fences deep; if your Superman arm pops up at the wrong moment....

Tees had been shoveled in winter.

Great course for developing and/or older players.

Original tee signs if you can believe it (I'm nearly 100% positive). They are from the correct era anyway; and have been altered with basic, but adequate paint skills (adds another layer to the rustic feel; with upkeep).

#2 an especially beautiful hole. Nice bridge across the creek. Easily reachable; but pretty.
#s 12 -18 and #23 secluded and heavily wooded...most of the rest of the ending; through more wide open grassy areas with mature trees to negotiate.
Simple, next tee arrows on tee signs.

The footage present keeps it at a 3.5; even with 24 holes. Also, the wear on the course. A couple of 400+ holes from longs; but a lot of @250 ft. pins.
Circular tee end markers were all found; but no signs for long tees.
Tees no worse than others in area during winter; but appear quite rutted in photos. The overall, winter, footing here was the worst of six courses. (I think the worn look of West is offset; by the dignity it HAS maintained). Well used course from looks of land in pics.

Sounds like it's crowded; probably play during off hours if possible.

My third trip to West; 2002, 2003 and now, 2010. For the original trip; West Park was "nicest course of a tour." We played more than 4 courses during that trip. I can well imagine why. Highland was not in yet; and this course has a wonderfully classic feel to it.
Course is aged from a visual stand point; but the terrain is actually very nice overall. I would try to play here when lots of others were not on the course; and enjoy the experience, as if I were playing a long lost gem; that I had discovered. If you do play it when the course is full; look at the value it has provided in this regard over the years. This is an absolute gem of a course for representing the early era.
Taking into consideration that footing was horrendous, and we played mostly long tees; (where available) we did not score that great. -1 best score of three; with two of us usually 900+ rated players. I would not say this is not a pitch and putt, by any means. But, you would want to score well here if in competition; or if a home course.
Gold level players will not be thrilled here; but everyone else will enjoy the West Park experience.

-A Classic, West Park is the first permanent disc golf course in IL.
-24 holes
-More elevation than almost all Chicago area courses.
-Plenty of shade for hot days
-Several memorable/unique holes:
2 Mid/putter hyzer with 20' elevation drop over creek
16 Another downhill with a sea of underbrush below. A drive that doesn't make it into putting range is penalized severely

-Course is mostly wooded with a few mostly open holes to break things up

-Rutted, natural tees.
-Well used baskets.
-Favors RHBH a little.
-Can be very crowded on nice days or weekends.
-Some paths can be dangerous when muddy
-Loud highway noise on first third of course

This course is a lot of fun. Beginners can enjoy it along with more advanced players (although it is short by long arm standards). The terrain used for this course is rare in this area and is well used.

Close to other good courses:
Highland Park, Joliet (great)
Community Park, Channahon
Trinity Links, Lockport

If taking Rte. 171/Archer Ave to Joliet area, stop by Little Johns in Lockport. Great Italian Beefs, mexican Coke in the glass bottles.

I learned to play on this course and it is an excellent course to learn/teach on. Elevation changes, woods and a creek play throughout the course. Even though it is on I-80 I have seen foxes and wildlife on the course. The course is not overly long, but appropriately challenging.

The tees are dirt mostly and quite poor. The signs need some help and navigating the first time might be hard.

Give it a try. I have met some great people on the course.

I really enjoyed what this course had to offer. There was much variety with long, short, left, right, open, and wooded holes.

It allows you to use all of your throws to get to the holes and the people were very helpful who were playing on the course.

It was a nice park and we didn't have to wait long for most of the course though there seemed to be many people there.

Signs and baskets were just okay and tee pads were dirt.

Feels like the oldest course in Illinois, but that also makes it more fun to play.

24 holes and a cool disc golf experience.

It was kind of hard to navigate through the first time but the tee signs point in direction of next tee off so look for that.

I am not a fan of dirt tee pads as they are kind of uneven and have probably gotten worse.

Most holes can be short as this was made in the 70s, but it still a great course to play.

Take the time to come out to this course as it is one of the better ones in the Chicago land area. Also go to highland park which is within 5 miles as it is a better and more challenging course.