Princeton, IL

Bureau County Metro Center

Permanent course
0.885(based on 4 reviews)
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1 0
mgcarney
Experience: 14.9 years 94 played 55 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Where is the next hole? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 20, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

The grass was well maintained, and it was a pretty quiet park, but not much else to write home about.

Cons:

The course was laid out very strange. Hard to follow and lots of unnecessary backtracking. One hole is less than 150' which leaves something to be desired. The 8th hole had no basket, only chains. While we're on #8, I can't imagine throwing beside the volleyball court when people are using it.

Other Thoughts:

This course needs to be redesigned, and include the water while they're at it! #9 should definitely be a water shot.
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1 0
notapro
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.7 years 568 played 281 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Beginner 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 8, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Course is set on the grounds of a multi-use park, with ponds, tennis courts, a volleyball court, etc. I could definitely see interference on a nice day on a few holes.
- A variety of obstacles are present here, including the usual trees and forest, but also a building and park equipment. #1 has the forest on the left, and the building on the right, #2's basket is tucked in the woods, #3 has a sharp left turn past the woods to get to the basket, and #6 has more trees/woods on the left. Individual trees are present directly off the tee on #3, #4, and in the fairway on #6-#8.
- These obstacles force good line shaping and shot placement, in a few different ways. #3 needs an accurate shot off the tee to get through the window, and ends in a sharp hyzer. #6 is a sharp hyzer around giant trees.
- Some slight elevation changes here; #4's basket is down a small pit at the end of the fairway, and #5 has a slightly elevated teepad. Adds some fun to it. There is water next to some holes, but is very far away for any experienced player.
- Good baskets, tee signs are set in the ground and can be tricky to find but are plenty informative. The map is crucial to find the next tee; if the grass is long it is even tougher.

Cons:

- Course plays a little short overall, with five of the holes under 215' (I think #1 is mislabeled, we played it much longer than 193'). Either way, there are many holes that are more or less approach shots.
- Hole #8 plays next to/through the volleyball courts; while it is a nice long hole, there is a major chance for interference.

Other Thoughts:

- Overall, a pretty enjoyable course that has plenty of short, fun holes for beginners, and also some tricky longer holes for more experienced players. A RHBH hyzer will work for every hole, but the length and difficulty is mixed well. Best suited for beginner players, as long as they can avoid the water hazards.
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2 1
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Meh... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 11, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through a pretty city park with a nice pond and some woods along the edges of the park. A few holes have pins tucked up against or into the woods which adds a little bit of risk of ending up in the rough. The pond could potentially come into play on particularly bad shots on a couple holes adding a little more risk/reward element to the course.

There are several aceable holes, and a couple that are a little longer and offer a chance to open up a little more. There are a couple minor elevation changes in the park and the course tries to take advantage of them. Though the park is multi-use, the course mostly stays away from park features and is fairly safe with space between fairways.

The baskets seemed to be pretty new, and were in good shape. There is a pretty accurate course map by the entrance to the park that is very helpful for navigation. The park is very well kept with no trash, and nicely mowed grass.

Cons:

Navigation is a real problem here. There are several long walks with no indicator of where to go next, including one around the pond. The tees are grass with boards set flush into the ground that you can't see unless you are standing right on top of them. Take a picture of the map if you want to actually find the tees. They aren't all level either, as they are just spots of grass wherever the designer happened to put the tee.

The course is very short overall, with not much real challenge. Most of the holes are wide open, or reward a RHBH hyzer, so it doesn't play all that balanced or force players to hit different lines. The woods and the water could be great hazards, but they aren't used all that well. The one long hole feels very out of place, and though it adds some challenge it just doesn't fit with the rest of the course.

Other Thoughts:

The park has potential, but it just isn't used all that well and the course ends up being a pretty easy course without enough variety to really be interesting or fun. It's also pretty tough to follow, and even with the map it's not easy to find all the tees so first time players may find it pretty frustrating. If you're not looking to add to your course count, don't go out of your way to play this one.

The course layout has some good challenges for newer players, though it won't push them to learn different shots. More experienced players won't find many real challenges here. There are some great safari options here though that would bring the pond and woods more into play, and you could make a pretty fun and diverse set of holes if you put some thought into it.
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6 1
#19325
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.8 years 351 played 175 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Princeton 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 18, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a 12 Acre small town park. The first few holes play along a wood line. There is a nice small pond that comes into play on 2 holes. The rest of the holes play in the open of a nicely mowed area.

The first tee is located on the west side of the building and plays between the building and woods.

There are 9 baskets in the ground.

Very beginner friendly.

Cons:

The tees are marked by a piece of wood in the ground. Thank god a park worker gave us a course map. We had no idea where any of the tees were at. Even with the map we had a hard time locating the tees.

This course is short and pretty boring.

Other Thoughts:

Princeton Website
http://www.princeton-il.com/?recreation

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