Wildcat Springs is a great, well balanced course. There are nice mixes of open/wooded, flat/elevation, as well as fun/challenging. Four par 4 holes provide a bit of extra distance. Chaney creek and other smaller water features are in play on a few holes.

The equipment is decent. Concrete tee pads are all paired with signage that includes hole number, distance and par. The baskets are a bit weathered but still fully adequate. The layout is fairly easy to follow, with signs to provide direction when the next step is not directly in the field of vision.

There are several really fun holes. Hole 1 is a beast of a par 4. It tees downhill, crosses a creek lined with mature trees and continues uphill on the other side. There isn't a great line through the trees, but if you're lucky a drive can filter through and wind up in the open on the opposite side, leaving an approach shot for a chance at a birdie. Hole 4 is another par 4, long with a downhill drive that is mostly open. The basket is in a flat patch of grass in front of the creek. 10 and 11 are killer short holes that cross a fairly deep ravine. The trees are plentiful, but a well placed drive will leave you with good birdie opportunities. 12 is another par 4, it runs the opposite direction of the first hole. Similar with the downhill, cross stream, then uphill but with fewer trees allowing better lines. The last hole is a downhill as well, the basket placed behind a medium sized tree near the bottom of the slope. If you overshoot the pin or miss far to the right there is fairly thick rough.

I played after significant rainfall and there were many deep puddles creating extra hazards on holes located in the lower section of the park (mainly 5-8). Mud had covered the tee for hole 7, and water stood inches deep in the hole 9 teebox. I was glad to avoid the standing water, if only by the narrowest of margins in a couple of spots. The rest of the course was fine.

I did find holes 6, 8 to be average, flat with few trees. Also 13-15 were a bit dull, wide open with some minor elevation change.

There were parking areas that impacted my round on holes 4, 8 and 17. Cars were near the line, but I played through any how. Luckily no automobiles were struck.

Wildcat Springs is a cool course, and I am happy that we stopped there to break up a drive from Des Moines to St. Louis. This area of the Mississippi River where Iowa, Missouri and Illinois converge is quite lovely in the spring.

The previous review from 2018 indicated poor conditions, but most of them have been rectified since then apparently. I was able to find all 18 baskets without much trouble, but 1 is hard to spot, even if you do make it through the dense line of trees.

I shot 2 down (56) and really should have been lower. I birdied 1, 3, 4, and 11 and took bogies on 2 and 15. Terrible approach shots that were easily avoidable resulted in the bogies. I also barely missed birdie putts on holes 10 and 18. Still, I am always happy to go under par when playing any course for the first time.

There is a 9 hole course in Hamilton as well. I saw it as we were leaving Wildcat, but didn't stop to play there. It looked like it is probably also a nice course.

-Good variety of shots
-Downhill shots like holes 4 and 12 make you feel like a pro
-Tight wood shots like holes 2 and 11 make you really think about disc selection

-Poorly marked in my opinion. However, once you understand the layout it is no problem, just takes a time or two.

Definitely plan on going back to this course in the near future as it is only 40 minutes away. Overall, this is a fun course that I would recommend to anyone who considers themselves of average to above average ability. Beginners probably wouldn't have much fun

Beautiful park. Top notch maintenance. Camping, a couple of small playgrounds, swimming pool, a couple of shelter houses. Another DG park just down the road. A community that seems to truly accept and invite DG in their town.

Huge course map sign. Simple tee signs. Concrete tee pads. Course designer did a fantastic job with the design using the lay of the land very well. Water hazard on the creek holes (1, 5, 6, 7). Elevation changes ranging from small incline/declines to huge canyon shots. A few wooded holes too (10, 11).

Game play was great. Lots of fun holes, a few epic shots that really made the course fun.

1 truly is all it is cracked up to be, it doesn't look like much, but if you come up short, you're in a world of hurt. Awesome hole!!

Not a beginner friendly course. On many of the long holes, unless you can throw 300+ accurately, you'll be in for a long day.

5, 6, and 7 were very soft and spongy with some standing water after a rain, my feet got a little wet.

A few areas to note that people can be in your fairways: 4 when I played had a group of vehicles sitting towards the pin, I ended up throwing around them, on 8 there was a vehicle that I had to throw over, ball field by 15, 16 and 17 there was some picnic tables and a park grill near the fairway, and 18 be aware of the playground, though depending on your throws, most of these may not be an issue but worth noting.

Have to use the bridge on 11 to get to pin on hole 10.

Three repetitive boring holes that don't mesh with the rest of the park (13, 14, 15) as they were just open back and forth shots. With the hills here, they should plant some trees and or bushes for obstacles.

As noted above, hole 1 is truly epic. It doesn't look like that big of a deal in the photo, but it's harder than it looks. This left to right canyon shot has trees growing near the bottom around the creek, those trees are fully grown trees and you are staring at the tops of the trees from the tee pad, just to let you know how far down it is. There is a gap to get through, but you have to be aware of the road as that is OB, so there is little room for error. The area at the bottom next to the creek has thick vegetation, throwing up and out or through it will cost you a couple two or three strokes.

12 is a 630' bomb, but shot placement is critical, you have to really set your first shot up to get a good second drive back up to the basket. If you throw too close to the middle of the fairway down by the trees, it's difficult to go through or over.

18 is another great shot that uses elevation very well. Teeing off above the creek area, you throw along the creek and the rough to a basket on a very steep side hill, so placement here is incredibly important.

I really had a good time at the course and so did the family. The youngsters played on the playground, and the wife walked with me while I played. I hope to get back this fall to take in some of the beauty of the park.

This course is one of my favorites, it will give you a challenge, and it's fun to play.
-All of the amenities are Par here: Concrete Tee's, Signs with maps, Park is well maintained,
-First hole is a big challenge. A 462ft Canyon shot, that bends to the right; As well as carries over a tree lined creek.
-This course is a very challenging course, that requires big distance drives, and multiple risk/reward shots.
-Not beginner friendly. This course is a challenge and could be frustrating for those that don't have the arm for it.
-Very Scenic course. The walk through the course is very enjoyable. Especially in the fall.
-Excellent use of terrain, with multiple canyon shots. Two that carry over dense woods (10,11) and Two that carry over a tree lined creek(1,12).
-This course will require the player to break out their long arms, at the same time most holes require a good placement for the second shot.
-Most of the holes vary, and require a different strategy. Most of the holes don't play the same.*
-Water comes into play on some of the holes.
-The shorter holes are not to be dismissed as lesser, they offer just as much of a challenge. The short holes just require a more strategic approach. An errant throw on #11 will have a player scouring the woods for their disc. ...like I did! ; )
-Big fun factor here, and a great challenge! Well worth a trip to the Area.
-Not designed for a quick play. 18 plays back to the start, but if you play 9 you will have a long walk back to the car.
-For a quick warm up round before hitting Wildcat, check out Hamilton Park which is just a few blocks down the street.

-*When you get to hole 13, the course kind of becomes Vanilla. The holes 13,14, and 15 play back and forth across an open empty field. Very repetitive.
-15 Plays behind the right field of a baseball diamond. (They don't yell "fore" in Baseball, so heads up.)
-16,17 and 18 play near a common area with a playground. May not be an issue all the time, but it's definitely worth mentioning. The day we played, kids were running around all over the place. including across our fairway.
-Closed during the Winter. (I learned that the hard way)

This is a course I've been waiting to return to. The first time I played here, darkness stopped our game on hole 10. The second time I tried to play here, I drove the 45 miles only to discover it's closed during the winter. In this case "3rd time is the charm", I really enjoyed this course, and it is one of my favorites. If you are looking for a fun challenge, then you will find it at Wildcat.

For the most part, the course is segregated from the rest of the park. 1-14 play away from the common areas, and 4-9 is in an area that is Disc Golf only. With the exception of a maintenance road. The only part that gets congested is around 15-18, which plays near a shelter, Baseball field and play area. The day we played here, it looked like they were having a family reunion at the shelter. The kids running around made us play a little more conservatively.

Tennis shoes should be fine here, but you may want something a little more protective. It can get sloppy here after a rain, and there are creek beds that could fill up with water. You will probably end up going into the woods to retrieve your disc a couple of times, so be prepared. If you are playing near dark, it might help to bring a glow disc. Just an FYI. If you live in South Eastern Iowa, or mid western Illinois, then this course is worth a trip over. It also caps a nice road trip if you were to hit Burlington and Fort Madison as well.

Challenging, excellent use of elevation, nice baskets, nice long teepads, water on several holes, variety of shots required.

I think some of the sign distances were wrong. I was particularly bummed on 17 when I hit a tree 10 feet behind the basket and the disc was still 10 feet over the basket. I threw a midrange when I should have thrown a putter. After pacing it off, I'm sure it was at least 30 feet off. There was a couple others that I'm pretty sure were at least that far longer than the sign said.

The sign on 6 was missing, which was rather unfortunate since the basket isn't visible from the tee and it would have been really nice to know there is a huge river 10 feet behind the basket. I discovered that after being rather aggressive on a 60 foot putt (luckily I missed by less than 10 feet).

The basket on 16 needs to be painted bright orange (like one of the earlier baskets was). It is absolutely invisible from the teebox.

Stairs and/or a bridge need to be put in on 10. I parked my drive and still felt like I had to be punished walking across the ravine through the schule and mud.

If I were going to add a major project to the course, I'd actually add a set of shorter tees and make it more beginner friendly. It really wouldn't be much fun to play this course if I could only throw 200 feet.

This course is all that the shorter Hamilton course isn't:

Challenging, thick schule, NOT beginner friendly, requires you to use the whole bag, NOT stroller friendly, easy to lose a disc etc.

The main challenge, however, is distance. If you cannot drive 350+ feet on flat open ground you will not score well. Holes 1 and 12 are particularly challenging. You throw off a big hill, the disc flies forever, and then you get to the bottom and you've still got a 250 foot shot uphill to the basket. I found it a little depressing to be throwing my max distance driver ON MY UPSHOT. There are a number of holes on the backside that will allow you to make up for some of the lost shots on the front nine, but to birdie the "wide open holes" mentioned on other reviews, you'll need to be able to drive 350-400.

I was pleased to card a 57, 2 birdies, 3 bogies, and a 5 on the first hole (rough start, I know.) I had the course all to myself on a weekday morning in the rain. It was a little soggy, but not bad. It really gave me the impression of playing ball golf as I found myself shooting for fairways (many holes were just too long for me to shoot for the basket on my first shot), the fairways were well-manicured and a missed fairway would really punish me. There weren't any super-tight holes, but when I'm throwing a Katana off most of the teeboxes, there doesn't have to be very many trees on the hole for it to feel tight.

Not the greatest course I've ever played but well above average. A few changes would make this course a real destination course.

A really nice course. You can play this course in a very peaceful environment. The Hole #1 is the one I prefered, I like the view and as it on a top hill you can throw your disc really far but take care of the trees !
The Holes close to the creek are very nice and open. You can make long distance drive from the #4 to #9 and #12 to #15.
I you are near the Wildcat Springs park you MUST do it.

Better to have a spotter for the #1 if you are not a really good player.
The holes in the bottom (#4 to #9) are muddy after the rain and of course you will enjoy the bugs !

I was happy to made the PAR on this course coz the 1st time I came there I was a bit impressed by the difficulty of some holes.
Not a lot of people are playing this course so you will enjoy it for the beauty and the silence

Hope my english is not so bad for you guyz

Wildcat Springs is an awesome place to play disc golf. It is a very nice well kept park.

Nice sized cement tee pads and great Mach 5 baskets.

It starts on hole #1. It's one of the best holes in Illinois. It's a great par 4 that requires a great tee shot thru a nice gap. The woods, creek, and road all come into play. This is one tough 3 to get. See the 1st video link in the other comments. There is some good footage starting on hole #1.

This course has a ton of character and variety. The holes are unique. There is quite a bit of elvation on the course. There are some very challenging fast greens and ravine shots. Water comes into play on several holes.

This is not the toughest course in Illinois but man it is very fun to play. By no means is it easy either. SSA is 49.97 so to shoot 50(-4) you are playing some awesome golf.
http://www.pdga.com/course-ra...?TournID=8506

Holes #13 and #14 are very similar wide open holes.

This course lacks a few tight wooded holes. It has semi wooded holes but not tight.

The tee signs are adequate but below average.

You can get a good idea of this youtube video.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuSIuw2-cNU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?...ature=channel



Check out my Illinois Top 10 list.
http://discontinuum.org/index...1486.msg68704#msg68704

This is a beautiful course that can also separate the pros from the lesser player. The holes follow the perimeter of the park and it takes a good arm AND a good throw to reach most of the holes in 3. The course makes good use of the woods that bisect the park and it also uses what little elevation is available very will. It also has water coming into play on 2 of the holes. A little something for everyone.

Holes 5 through 8 tend to get waterlogged to the point of unplayable when it rains. Holes 15A and 15B are unmarked and easily over looked if you don't know where they are. Other than that, there is very little bad about the course.

With 18 "official" holes plus 2 extra, 15A and 15B, you are sure to have a good round here. Plan on a couple of hours and enjoy yourself.

Beautiful park, picturesque views from the teepads, good signage, sensible navigation, benches everywhere. Great mix of shots. Most of all: FUN to play!

Ground was a bit soft on lower part of course near river/creek. Possibly floods in heavy rain? 3-4 hole stretch of wide open, slightly boring holes on back. Limited parking.

It was a beautiful day but no one else was there! Everyone should make the trek to Hamilton to play this course. Warm up at the 9 holer up the street, then play Wildcat. You won't be disappointed. The view from the first teepad alone is stunning. Play along a big creek/river (careful--water comes into play on a few holes!). Throw across ravines (all very navigable). Throw uphill, throw downhill, throw short, throw long. Anything you could want, this course has. Also lots of picturesque Mississippi River valley scenery just to the west of town as you drive in.

Different challenges for each section of the park. Can be flat, can be hilly, can be wooded, can be open. Beautiful park, well kept course.

Don't remember anything

My fav course in the area, though I haven't hit them all. You won't be disappointed with this course.