Saint Louis, MO

Willmore Park

3.545(based on 28 reviews)
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Otahk
Experience: 7 played 6 reviews
2.50 star(s)

City Park Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 27, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful park, water features, quick play. Once you understand the layout it can be fun. It is a typical city park layout, not a great deal of obstacles to throw around and there are several routes to the targets.

Cons:

This course is not marked well at all and can get a bit confusing even with the map. The grass is taller and not as well kept. Transitions from hole to hole can be long walks.

Other Thoughts:

Be prepared for low lying wet areas and taller grass.
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5 0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.9 years 484 played 183 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Willmore or less feed your addiction 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 18, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Plays all around a pretty busy, very clean and pleasant city park with typical park amenities.
• Disc Play: Mostly open/semi-open with a smattering of well-placed trees. Maybe 2-3 holes I'd describe as lightly wooded. The openness of this design allows for plenty of shot variety, but certainly doesn't require it. Great distribution of hole distances of varying lengths with one under 200, several in the 250-350 range, many over 400' and (depending on pin placement) anywhere from 2-5 over 500'with a couple of 600 footers - nicely done.
• Good use of elevation: downhill, uphill, slopes - several holes play longer or shorter than posted. Some with rollaway potential for risk/reward opportunities.
• Equipment: Natural tees weren't bad, but leave something to be desired on long holes where sure footing helps achieve distance. Tees marked with tall 4x4 posts with small signs, but pin location isn't noted. Scorecard with map at kiosk off the parking lot.
• Aesthetics: Very pleasant park style setting with nice ponds, lots of green space, and essentially no underbrush. Rolling hills also add to the appeal. Definitely a pleasant walk through the park.
• Routing/Nav: see cons... 4" diameter pavers in the ground near the pin with arrow pointing toward next tee along with tee markers are the only saving graces here.
• Memorable holes: For me #'s 5, 7, 8, and 10 and 11, stood out above the rest.
• Low chance of disc loss.
• Fills a DG void in the immediate vicinity.
• Trash cans at many tees (score card even shows where they are), and a few restrooms (near parking, tee 7 and on the way to 14).

Cons:

• Potential safety issues: Several holes play close to walkways and other areas where other park goers are likely to be, and this is a busy park with plenty of non-DG traffic (at least it was the day I played). Situation's exacerbated by several factors; wide open course design - with nothing to inhibit them, pedestrians simply stroll through the park, completely unaware they entering onto completely undefined fairways. Made only worse by the fact that there are several long holes that play blind due to elevation. Long holes mean faster discs, more "oomph" and less precision... you do the math. One or two holes play near roads with decent traffic.
• Not much variety in terms of fairway types. Everything's open/semi open, lightly wooded at best - feels repetitive toward the end. If not for all the sweet elevation changes, I see how some might say it's boring.
• Too many holes don't make you pay for missing your intended line. Although though doing so may cost you birdie opportunities, the open design makes for easy recoveries to save par.
• Routing/Nav: I don't mind long walks from hole to hole (especially when there's a reason, like the walk from 7-8 here), but Willmore's routing from hole to hole is terribly inefficient and often non-intuitive. The walks only seem to get longer and more confusing the further you get into the course. Playing 3 takes you completely in the opposite direction of 4's tee. The resulting walk is awkward, but only mildly annoying. 5 to 6 is took a while to find, 6-7 is a hike. 7 to 8 is counterintuitive, but I forgive that one because they opted to make 8 a downhill thrill, rather than an uphill humbler. I don't recall issues from 9-13, but the walk to 14 is completely atrocious. You walk past 17 to get to 15, and 18 isn't obvious to the uninitiated in any way, shape or form. The map is of limited help, but is essential your first time out.

Other Thoughts:

Willmore is appropriate for beginners to advanced players. Wide open layout means wind is likely to be a factor here (was during my round). Given the length on some of these holes (and the arm speeds they're likely to generate) this makes disc selection and shot execution very important, because the wind has a long time to work on your disc. Shots can get away from players, and there really isn't much (in the way of obstacles) to keep them from ending up where you don't wanna be. IMO, this doesn't coexist well in the proximity of pedestrians near ponds, on walkways, flying kites in fields... all of which were part of my round.

Strictly from disc play standpoint, I see this course as 3.0 - 3.25. I like the range of distances and use of elevation, but the limited variety of shot shapes required and lack of technical holes of any sort hold it back from any potential it might have had for a higher rating. Factor in the potential for interference with other park goers and the horrible routing, and I just can't rate it high as I'd like to. There are some fun holes and interesting pin placements, but I can't overlook its flaws.
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Designer response by stubborn puppet
Consider checking out the brand new, 12' long tee concrete tee pads. They're 5' wide in the front, 8' wide in the back and have a 4' long red concrete foul box up front for safety and to prevent erosion. We've also addressed a few of the possible safety concerns you have concerning pathways and roads - as well as where people were prone to walking across the fairway. I think it might improve your rating. Enjoy.
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