1) Initial impressions check all the right boxes for a park course setting. Decent amount of parking, RV hookups, Multiple covered pavilions, a small well kept beautiful pond, all set in a small well maintained public park. Hole #1 starts directly beside parking lot, Practice basket clearly marked and easily findable right near Hole #1, brick and mortar bathrooms and port-o-johns throughout the park, beautifully maintained.

2) Large textured concrete tee pads, a few holes utilize existing paved park roads for tees so be aware. Discatcher baskets in used but good shape throughout.

3) Park portion maintained flawlessly, no trash, grass recently mowed, and woods portion is well cut in with very little underbrush outside of intended hazard areas that shape holes.

4) Incredible increase in difficulty as the course goes on. The first 5 holes are relatively short par 3's and though wooded, offer pretty easy lines to navigate. The course also offers the opportunity in the way it is shaped to play an 8 hole loop of just open park holes for those who don't want to play the much harder dense wooded holes.

5) Elevation comes into play on every hole. It is used very smartly to create difficult yet fun to play holes throughout that each have their own identity. You will find yourself throwing multiple angles up and down slight inclines, over water, or off a 30 ft cliff.

6) Course manages to use the water features well. Hole 2 plays over a short pond carry, Hole 3 plays along the same pond. And once you dive off into the woods there is a creek that comes into play multiple times throughout the remaining holes.

7) Of the courses we visited this day, Karel Park stood out above the much higher rated and praised courses. The mix of elevation, distances, lines, transitions from lightly wooded to densely wooded and just the overall FUN of this course far exceeded our expectations based on the reviews we had seen and heard. As stated previously, we were informed this course had or is undergoing redesign. And the lack of tee pad signage and difficultly navigating currently are the only huge knocks on this course.

8) Course does no favors to either dominant hand. Fair to exact combination of left to right and right to left holes. There were always more than one route to the basket also, some more risky than others, but present.

9) I'm always a fan of a solid hole #1 and hole #18 giving the most memorable impression of a course theme and Karel Park delivers. Hole #1 is a slight down hill lightly wooded tunnel shot par 3 at 275 feet with OB left, right and long. Not exactly a signature hole, but very memorable and a great taste of what is in store. Hole #18 is almost a mirror copy of hole #1 except more wooded, less clear lines, and adds a slight uphill incline to the green with tight OB behind. The course emphasizes hitting your line with touch and landing on the correct side of the green.

10) Though not what I would call a tournament course outright (due to it being a small park and holes close together), it presents a tournament worthy challenge with score separation. Holes 15-18 are a great final 4 to finish, bomber downhill par 3 through a tight gap off a cliff to a hanging basket on the bank of the creek. One mistake can end your hopes. 16 is a tight tunnel huck back up to the top of the cliff you just threw down. Anything short or caught up in the trees early will filter all the way down to the bottom of the cliff. 17 is a professional level two angle 475 foot par 3 with the first 400 feet being a downhill straight shot through wide mature trees before curving slightly right and heading uphill to a well guarded green. Lots of chances for strokes to change hands.

1) Lack of course signage. The course has undergone a recent redesign which may contribute to this. The first few holes have a large red Post with Hole #, Par, and Distance but starting with hole #6 most holes only have a tee pad with the par, distance, hole number and arrows pointing the direction shape of the hole.

2) Navigation starts off pretty intuitive on the short park holes, but once you dive off into the woods it gets pretty confusing as there are no directional signs and most holes are missing sign posts. U-Disc made navigating easy for us, but without it, you will struggle.

3) Beautiful but small park that is well loved. It was packed when we played but only holes 1-5 and 17-18 are in the open park area. The shots are not blind so that helps, but you may have to wait for fairways to clear or avoid parked vehicles.

4) Outside of the small space this park occupies limiting the design and distances available, and the current lack of tee signs, and navigation, it is very difficult to be hard on this course. If I had to stretch to find another con it would be how scoreable it starts out and how difficult it becomes to score once you go into the woods. It masquerades as a beginners course early and gnarls its teeth late.

If this course were closer I would play it often. It plays quickly, the course is gorgeous, and it does the woods game well without being punishing. It suffers from being in the middle of literal nowhere, but benefits from being within 15-30 minutes of 2 Illinois courses billed as Championship courses (SIC and Fox Prairie). We played all 3, despite being told to skip Karel and we wouldn't like it. But ironically, it was our favorite of the 3. And for that, I give this course a 4 and would have scored it higher had the course signage been installed.

1. Great use of elevation change
2. Concrete tee pads even though some are the actual park road
3. Chance for an ace over the water
4. Lots of shade
5. Great use of land (the park is not extremely big)
6. Course flows very smooth
7. Easy to find all the holes

1. Can get wet on the holes in the woods
2. Some of the holes towards the back of the woods are a bit overgrown
3. Somewhat of a short course but not too bad

This course starts out with a few holes in a city park style setting with some obstacles but not a ton and you work your way towards a small lake and play around there and then into the woods you go!! I personally liked the first part of the coruse the best but the holes in the woods are challenging and not redundant. You eventually work your way out of the woods for the final 2 or 3 holes. Solid course. Id go more but its kind of in the middle of nowhere.

Beautiful little park with bathrooms and soda machines. Nice places to sit and picnic and watch the kids play on the park equipment.
18 holes with very different looks even though most are in some crowded wood settings. Good elevation changes and on every hole there is a good chance of making par even though your drive goes a little askew. Some great placed OB make the shorter holes tough but fair. Ace runs abound and the novice will like it here just as well as the seasoned pro. Discatcher baskets in very good condition and concrete pads make this course a wonderful addition to an area in Southern Illinois that has very little to offer us Discers.

The flow is a little off for me. 17 should have been the finishing hole but the walk back up the hill from 18's basket isn't too bad.
You do get close to throwing around parked cars and playground equipment so the novices should watch out. The walk down the steep hill on the north side of the park is dangerous but I hear there will be steps put in to remedy that situation. Watch your step in the fall cause the hickory nuts and persimons(sp) make the downhill paths even more dangerous. Could use more parking space away from the fairways.

I like this course and will be back. Hope to see the stumps removed and the stairs put in. Even though this is a tad bit remote it is very worth the drive and I am looking forward to the upcoming tournaments.

This course has been extended in four areas adding more distance and added challange; also five baskets have been placed bringing the total to 15 baskets. Two more should be going in very shortly, bringing the course total to 17. This course offers three very cool water shots at baskets 2,3,6; Baskets7,8 have a creek shot that when dry is in bounds and if it is wet then it is a water hazard. There are numerous mature trees and hills throughout the park, which add to the challenge of playing at this course. We have slowly made better routes to the baskets, and are currently in the progress of making signs and better tee pads, but felt it was necessary to concentrate on building the pathways, before we put in the concrete pads and signs. We have added an epic hill shot that has some distance and a nice left fade to it, among numerous other shots. Precision and accuracy are key elements to playing in this park, so I suggest coming out and playing it; also leave your input so we can further better the course. Its a great game, so rip it up and have fun!

This course is also shared by the community and we had to work the course around gathering areas for family's and their children. So let em rip; but be courteous to the other people who have come to enjoy the park in other ways.

This park offers water in many areas(except in winter), the park has great upkeep. It gets crowded in the summer making it harder to play some baskets due to the fact it is a public park. Winter it is usually disc golf paradise with no one around. I look forward to the completion of this course and hope that you will give this course another shot or maybe try it for the first time. No matter what leave the drama behind and have fun for a few rounds at Karel park. Peace

This is a small town park that is very well kept. It's a very quiet and peacful park.

When you arrive park near the restrooms where the pop machines are located. There is a practice basket located nearby. The tee pads are not marked so finding them is difficult. Look for wood chips. I asked the park guy to mark them with flags.

The course flow is pretty good. There are no long walks.

There are mature trees, rolling hills, and a pond which add challenge.

This is a very beginner friendly course and a good additon to an area that does not have many course.

The tees are very hard to find. There are no tee signs. They are wood chips laid on the ground.

The land offers some really awesome holes which the designer did not utilize.

This is a pretty short course. More skilled players will throw a mid range or putter on most holes.

I talked to the park worker and this course is still being worked on. Tee signs are still being made and they may possibly add more holes.

Tee locations.
#1. Near the road under the trees.
#2. On the elvated area framed by wood.
#3. Just right of the basket near the road.
#4. Across the road by the tree line.
#5. On top of the hill.
#6. On the flat just back of the path that runs down the pond.
#7. Right behind the building.
#8. Between 2 trees near the creek.
#9. Just northwest of #8's basket.
#10. Walk up the stairs and hang a left. The tee is in the grass.

If you are in the area i'd stop to play it. I wouldn't drive to far out of the way to play this course. If it had tee signs I would have rated this course. 3.0.