Oakwood, IL

Kickapoo State Park

1.865(based on 7 reviews)
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14 0
Three Putt
Staff member
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 29.3 years 152 played 127 reviews
2.00 star(s)

I don't care what you want to be, baby. Long as you're happy and free.

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 16, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

A quick dip off I-74 as you ramble across the flyover states, Kickapoo State Recreation Area gives you a nice place to stop, stretch your legs and throw a quick round of disc golf. Apparently it had a long-standing object course (some of the object poles remain, though not in play) but somewhat recently the course was redesigned and DisCatcher baskets have been installed. There are nice tee signs (with a bonus area to write down Aces, which was a cool touch) at the dirt tee areas. Holes 2, 4 and 6-7 use some elevation to give some up/down shots and add variety. A few of the shots like 2 and six were a lot of fun to throw. It's a short, fun course that adds an extra activity to the recreation area.

Cons:

I hit the tee sign for hole 2 with my hyzer drive on hole 1. Hole 4 has a bench in the fairway. Hole 8 has a pavilion in the fairway. The basket for holes 4 and 9 are close; 9's basket doesn't come into play on hole 4 , but 4's basket is easy to hit throwing to 9. Basically, it's not the safest course design I've ever seen. There is good visibility (holes 4, 6, and 7 were the only places where you couldn't see the next tee from where you were teeing) so common courtesy would address most of the conflicts.

The tees are dirt with tripping strips to mark the forward edge. Given that it's a State recreation area, the dirt tees make 100% sense. I'm not a fan of the tripping strips to mark tee areas, though.

Hole 3 and to a lesser degree hole 6 use tall grass as an obstacle, and I kinda hate tall grass obstacles. They don't make the hole harder, they just make it more likely that you will loose a disc (RIP Q Sentinel, you were a good buddy.)

Other Thoughts:

I was there on a gorgeous Sunday at noon and I was the only person on the course, so it doesn't seem like the course gets a lot of traffic.

There really isn't anything special or notable about the course, it's a pretty typical recreational course. It's not really a course you should go out of the way to play. It has a good location that's easy to get to (I was barrel racing through Interstate construction and thought "I think I want to frolf"; GPS said it was right there and ten minutes later I was throwing) so it makes a really nice stop off for the road weary. It served that purpose for me very well.
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5 0
Wilbur6583
Experience: 13 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 14, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

New Innova baskets! Slight redesign to make it safer around the playground and shelter. Some length was added to several holes. 2 downhill holes and 2 uphill holes. A nice beginner friendly course with some challenge for advanced players.

Cons:

Course map and tees signs not installed as of 8/14/21, but they are coming soon. Tall grass in the rough on holes 2, 3 and 6.

Other Thoughts:

A much better course than when it was an object course!
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5 0
sisyphus
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.6 years 397 played 383 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Throwback 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 13, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well, there's a "Frisbee Golf" course here, and it's a chance to see the early adaptation of the game, when it moved from using trees as object targets, to actually having as your target a 6"x6" wooden post with a blue painted area to touch with your disc (the next level of evolution was often tone poles). There is a course sign which looks like it might have last been touched up about a quarter of a century ago, so you can more easily find the wooden toe board where you are supposed to tee off. You can see the target posts for holes 7, 8, 9 & 1 from the main drive beside the Ironwood Day Use Area.

Cons:

Aside from that, there's not much to commend this as a disc golf course. They may have once, but currently don't mow the tall grasses where the fairways for holes 1 through 7 belong (there are some 10 to 15 foot wide swaths in there to what I think were some picnic tables, and they might have mowed around some of the target posts, but they didn't follow the intended fairways. Don't play hole 9 if there is anyone using the playground, the picnic table, or parked in the lot so near the fairway. Trouble is, that only really leaves hole 8 as a legitimate, accessible, throwable hole. And it won't pose you a challenge.

Other Thoughts:

We stopped in as a leg stretcher on a long trip, just to see a target post course, and wound up just playing a handful of holes in 'safari' fashion (even working around some upshots and putts to tree trunks to make a loop), but I'm pretty sure only major, certified (certifiable?) course baggers like me would ever stop by to check this off their lists.
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0 4
depauw
Experience: 6 played 4 reviews
2.00 star(s)

honestly 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 18, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

lots of animal life
a change from the normal baskets
no one knows about this course not even the people that work at the park
areas of play are mowed and losing a disc is difficult to do

Cons:

uses post instead of baskets and holes could be longer only nine holes wish it longer
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8 0
uigrad
Experience: 34.3 years 36 played 13 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Nice for park visitors 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 24, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Even though I've been to Kickapoo State Park many times for camping and canoeing, I've never noticed the disc golf course. I decided to check it out because I saw it here, and obviously didn't expect much. What I found was a nicely kept course, designed for the average park visitor.

I'm pretty sure that the typical visitors to this course are not disc golfers. They probably are there to camp or fish, and just happen to have a $2 disc with them from the local megamart.

This course is designed to give such a person a taste of disc golf, and it succeeds at that mission.

The tees and holes are all in nice condition. I uploaded pictures of them in their current state. I noticed a bit of damage of hole #6, due to termites, but I'm sure the park will take care of it before it becomes a problem.

The fairways are nicely mowed, even if they are mowed a bit too narrow. The rough areas have long grass (almost waist high), but are almost completely free of weeds and fairly thin, so it isn't a problem finding your disc.

The wooded areas are pretty clear too. I wore shorts when I visited. This is obviously not recommended, but I'm pretty sure that I escaped without poison ivy, and I never had any problem with thorns, nettles, or thistles.

The course is nicely laid out. The parking lot is very close to tee #1 and hole #9, and nearly every tee is near the preceding hole. Even though there aren't any long holes, and not much for doglegs, there are two holes (3&5) that are uphill. Starting with hole #3, there are trees in play for each hole.

<span class="italic">Lastly, I should list all the standard nice things that reviewers say about every small courses:</span>
• The course is short enough that you can easily play through more than once!
• There is a fair amount of wildlife. I saw a deer twice (I think he was stalking me!)
• There are benches and a restroom.
• You can camp here or go canoeing after you finish.
• This is a great place to get your first ace. I just narrowly missed one on hole 3!


Cons:

Even though this course does a good job of meeting the needs of a casual visitor, I still have to rate it below average. Anyone who is here researching courses on dgcoursereview is probably going to be disappointed with the lack of challenge at this course. The park has plenty of space, even in this area, so it seems like it could easily be stretched out to make some decent par 4 and par 5 holes. If the woods were used a bit better, there could be some rather nice doglegs too. I would raise my rating by at least 2 stars if this was done.

Even though the blue painted beams for holes aren't terrible, they clearly could be improved if they were replaced with baskets. When you play this course, you'll need to decide whether bounce strikes will count or not, or you can just choose to only count the blue part of the hole. No matter what you decide, there is the possibility that a putt will be close enough that you can't tell whether it grazed or not.

<span class="italic">The rest of the complaints I have with the course are all minor, and rather standard issues. Rather than going into detail, I'll just make a list:</span>
• Tees #2 and #5 could be hard to find. A pole would help.
• The road by #1 can be an issue. I nearly had a disc smashed by a car.
• The playground by #9 can certainly be an issue. If there are kids playing there, you should probably skip it.
• There should be an extra set of tees, so it will be interesting if you play it twice.
• There's no trash cans, but the car is always close...lol


Other Thoughts:

The correct latitude and longitude for the course is (40.138321,-87.738144).

I've updated the course information on the first page. It used to list (40.140802, -87.735957), but I went there and just found the park office, which won't help you because they closes around 2pm each day!
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4 0
clipnfly
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.8 years 60 played 57 reviews
2.00 star(s)

And now for something a bit different 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 10, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful state park. Decent sign at first tee showing layout. Tees are clearly labeled. Part of course is cleanly mowed out of deeper rough. Some holes are paths through woods. last 2 holes are out in the open. Bugs were not too bad on a hot day.

Cons:

Never found hole/pin for hole 6. Never found tee for hole 7 (might have been near pin for 6 :) )

Other Thoughts:

Posts instead of baskets was a fun change from "usual". A wayward shot on 4, 5, 6 would have you hunting in the woods.
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3 0
Preacher Johnson
Experience: 27.5 years 7 played 3 reviews
2.00 star(s)

A few good holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 14, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Holes 5, 6 and 7 need precision shooting. Five and Six is through trees and 7 around obsticles including trees and a pick-nick pavillion.

Cons:

The course is very short. Hole 7 is the only par 4. Also, other than the three holes alrady mentioned the course is pretty wide open.
There are no baskets. The holes are wood posts painted blue near the top.

Other Thoughts:

The park is a nice setting. The course circles around a children's playground that can be seen from most everywhere on the course.
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