Kewanee, IL

Baker Park

Permanent course
3.865(based on 7 reviews)
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3 0
MidwestZest
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.8 years 103 played 72 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Destination course? Close. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 21, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Wonderfully secluded. Serene, and out by yourself. Not very much overlap in the course with other holes, which is cool.
- Dedicated to disc golf (aside from the roads).
- Decent elevation. Only used on a few holes (2, 4, 5, 9, 16), but very nice.
- Good baskets, great shape.
- Good concrete tees.
- Nice thought put into tee and pin placement on many of the holes. Definitely an effort to include a variety of hole types/challenges. Tunnel shots, open expanses, tight gaps, and some nicely guarded baskets. Uphill, downhill, nothing repetitive about this course.
- Nice varieties in length.
- #2 is a cool, blind downhill R to L. Had to walk down the hill to see where I was shooting, but this is a fun hole.
- #5 is challenging, downhill with a hard turn left at the end. Hard to get there with the low canopy.
- #7 is simple, but I enjoyed it very much (aside from the overgrown fairway). Relatively wide tunnel shot under a large canopy, through some large downed trees.
- #17 is a narrow, challenging, standard tunnel shot.

Cons:

- No real parking. Basically in the grass in a lot. Not exactly obvious.
- Hard to find where to start. If you come from the correct direction, you'll see the sign, but otherwise you'll drive around the whole park once on the one-way loop to get back to where you need to be.
- Tee signage could be improved. Some signs facing the wrong direction. Maps on a couple holes would be helpful, especially the blind ones. Not sure how far out the basket is.
- Signage directing you to the next tee is also needed in a few places. The layout isn't the worst, but it's not intuitive the first time round.
- Finding #16 tee pad took me a few.
- Roads are very much in play on a couple holes, but I wasn't ever terribly worried about it.
- VERY green this summer. Some of the wooded holes had all sorts of plants growing up in the fairways, 12 - 18" tall. Could be easy to lose a disc in the middle of the fairway if you're not watching. Just needs mowed occasionally.
- #16 is interesting, that's for sure. Tight woods, then down a little hill, and then up a steep incline to the right, 100' to the basket. It's got so many things going on, it just felt a little janky to me. Only an amazing upshot would get a deuce on this hole, and 3's are probably hard to come by.
- #18 is heavily guarded by a stand of trees - maybe too much so. There are lines, but just looking at it makes it seem like a poke and hope

Other Thoughts:

- The obvious thought in hole variety is what I really love about the course. Got frustrated with overgrown fairways and tee pads some, as well as some navigation issues, and having to walk down fairways to see basket placement.
- Lots of different challenges here, always a plus!
- Really, great for the peaceful, secluded feel.
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4 0
Jukeshoe
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.6 years 315 played 266 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Baked To (Near) Perfection 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 24, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Baker Park possesses a super tasty mix of moderate elevation, broad grassy fairways lined by scrubby woods, and tight technical holes that play through mature trees. Three holes (#'s 5 ,14, and 18) surpass 350' and two (5 and 14) are greater than 400', adding a bit of variety in the distance department and complimenting the shorter holes well.
- Elevation. Wowee, some good stuff here. Nothing super epic, but all is extremely well implemented throughout. Unique use of elevation includes the outstandingly precarious pin placement on #4, the huge downhill-through-trees hyzer bomb on #5, and the tricky blind downhill dink and dunk on #2. While most of the more open holes on the back nine are flat, there is enough variety throughout to say that elevation is the hallmark of this course.
- A great balance between tight, technical, line-hitting exercises and more open-laned fairways with scrubby wooded roughs offering fair punishment for errant shots. Several interesting greens (#4 is simply outstanding, and #5's pin placement is likewise challenging and fun) spice things up as well.
- Baker Park's beauty, peacefulness, and natural setting adds a lot to the round.
- Solid amenities. Concrete tees, decent signage, etc.

Cons:

- A few of the open-laned holes on the back nine get a bit repetitive as they explore variations on the theme, but that largely can be overlooked due to the rest of the course's variety.
- A couple of the beginning and ending holes play alongside the park road. Not too much of a con; I'm just looking for something to write here.

Other Thoughts:

- Well designed, fairly balanced, tasty elevation, and a beautiful park. I enjoy discing so much because of courses like Baker Park. It's not a world beater, or maybe even a destination course, but if you're in the area and have time, you cannot go wrong by playing a round or two at Baker.
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2 0
4_Of_Spades
Experience: 15.8 years 36 played 28 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Awesome course in Kewanee 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 18, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Located in a big park devoted to ball golf and disc golf.

Great baskets, love the orange.

Cement tee pads were very good, signs were okay.

Good elevation use and hole placement.

Course was balanced between RHBH and RHFH with some multiple line holes.

Playing here felt very isolated except for the people using the road around the park. We were also the only ones there for disc golf which was nice.

Course layout was planned out well with throwing into and out of the woods with some heavy wooded holes and some more open holes with punishing woods on the sides.

Very fun course to play.

Locals were nice, seemed to not know why we would play disc golf though.

Cons:

Signs do not have hole layout, just hole number and feet to basket. My dad and I had to go up and down hills to look for some of the blind pins which could be solved with better signs.

Some other park doers showed up around 5:00pm walking dogs, jogging, walking with their kids which made us wait on one or two holes.

There is not a real parking lot, it is just grass by the first entrance you pass after entering the park from the main road. There is a map of the park there and you park just outside the gates. We drove around the park at least twice looking for a real parking lot.

Course flow has a hiccup or two but you can easily back track and find the holes, second time through and this isn't a problem.

Other Thoughts:

There are some crazy par 3 ball golf holes if you drive through the rest of the park with huge hills and valleys between the tee off box and the green. I've never seen holes like them before and I know I would end up seeing that ball hit the side of the hill and roll all the way down to bottom of the valley. Ball golf is dying anyways, so maybe when people get frustrated with those holes they will see what a great disc golf course they have right next door.

All in all, this is a great course and I will be coming here any time I am able to to play again.
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7 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fun variety 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 24, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through a nice wooded park that's disc golf exclusive and doesn't seem to have conflicts with other park users. There are some nice elevation changes throughout the park, most of them gradual but adding challenge and variety. A few steeper hills come into play, with 4 playing short but steeply uphill with a really tricky roll away green, and 5 playing through a narrow gap down a hill out to a landing zone with a second shot needed for most to get around the corner.

The length variety here is decent, with a couple longer holes and some ace runs. Where this course really shines is the mix of hole shapes, with lots of interesting lines to hit calling for all the shots and discs you've got if you want to score well. It felt pretty balanced between left and right turning holes. Baskets and tees are in good shape, and the flow of the course is mostly easy to follow, especially if you look at the course map posted at the parking lot.

Cons:

The signage at the tees leaves something to be desired, with lots of blind holes it would be nice to have a little more information on where to throw. A handful of holes play along or over the park road. It doesn't seem too heavily used, but it's definitely a potential safety issue. The course plays pretty short overall, not a huge con but there weren't many holes where longer throwers will pull out a driver.

Other Thoughts:

Beginners will find the course challenging, and the rough can be pretty thick in spots making things frustrating for less accurate throwers. More experienced players will find lots of interesting challenges here, and a good test of most disc golf skills (excepting distance). I had a really good time on this course, the fun factor is high and it's one I'll go back to.
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5 0
notapro
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.7 years 568 played 281 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Intermediate 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 24, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Course is set in a large park that has tons of space for the disc golf. Besides some holes close to a park road, there shouldn't be any interference. Good mix of forested and open areas, with elevation changes.
- Wooded holes provide some tight lines, with narrow fairways or some small pinch points. #4 is short but very technical, #9 has two paths (more open around, very tight straight ahead), #16 has lots of trees, and #17 is a tunnel. These holes demand accuracy off the tee to avoid trouble, and also need good shot placement. Other wooded holes aren't as tight, but still need a good shot to stay clean.
- More open holes use mature trees or bordering woods to add challenge. #15 and #18, for example, are pretty clear off the tee but have baskets bordered by rough. Getting to the basket depends on where your shot ends, not where it begins. Some holes have a clear line to the basket, with woods on either side for punishment.
- Good elevation changes to be found here; #2 is a blind downhill shot, #5 is a bigger downhill with an elevated tee, #15 plays uphill to the guarded basket. Some nasty sloped greens here as well, #4 and #16 especially.
- Nice mix of hole lengths, #5 is a 455' RHBH hyzer, and #14 is a 430' RHBH anhyzer. The course is a little on the short side, at 290', but there is a good mix of longer/shorter holes in and out of the woods.
- Good teepads, baskets, and signage (though the signs are at the back of the tee). Navigation is easy with the map - some tricks like #7 to #8.

Cons:

- Some holes play next to, over, or across the park road. While it adds some good OB, it takes away from the atmosphere. We had a car stop on the road on #7 and stare us down, through the fairway, while teeing off. Creepy.
- For the most part, follows the conventional short/wooded, long/open template. The tightest hole on the course is only 165', and the 430' one is basically wide open. The one exception would be #16, at 318'.

Other Thoughts:

- Not many cons at this course! The shorter holes definitely have good character, testing a hyzer/straight/anhyzer, or have multiple obvious routes (#9 is cool). Longer holes have good punishment off the fairway to test distance vs. accuracy. Good elevation changes in many spots, both overall and within the hole.
- I imagine almost everyone would have fun here, and find some challenge. More advanced players might find it a little bit easy, but should still enjoy it.
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2 0
bcthegeek
Experience: 25 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Courese 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 15, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

-More or less every hole is a challenge, however they are not impossible holes. It is a good balance of tough shots but still manageable.
-Very well laid out, thought out and designed.
-Easy to navigate from hole to hole.
-Good "breaks" from the tight, wooded fairways but they are still a challenge.

Cons:

-No picture of the hole layout or line on the hole sign. Makes the blind shots kind of tough at times. You have to walk 3/4 of the way to basket to tell were it is and then back track to the pad.
-Parking was a bit confusing, but that is not that big of a deal.
-Like the other review said, you do have to watch out for people and cars on a few holes.

Other Thoughts:

Fun course! In the top 5 courses within an hour of the Quad Cities EASY. I would maybe even say top 3: Eagle Point, Sinnissippi and Baker Park. (Excluding Peoria area because it is technically over an hour away.) The other course in town is Chaquata and, quite frankly, it was a waste of time.
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7 0
JohtoVillage
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24 years 160 played 73 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great new course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 28, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Course has some very unique holes - hole 4's basket on top of a stump, hole's 5 awesome down hill drive, hole 9's tough drive and decision off of the tee....hole 13's nice defined fairway, hole 16's short but challenging two shot par 4, and hole 18's dangerous drive over the road. The course offers some great flick shot opportunities. The baskets are also top of the line. Machs are infinitely better than Discatchers in terms of durability and the orange coated paint make them easy to be seen. The course is challenging and forces you to stay on the fairway. There are some nice big bomber holes (hole 14 comes to mind) but the course is more about keeping it in the fairway, making pars, and playing for the duece on the holes you can score on. The course is the definition of risk/reward, which I love.

Cons:

All courses have something to be desired so I will highlight a few things here:

-Some of the greens are very tight and offer small putting areas. You may be 10 to 15 feet from the basket but be behind a tree. Over time this will be less of an issue as the course gets played more and things get beat in but at this point in time some of the greens are a little tight
-The rough is a bit rough, but once again this will fade over time and become normal
-A few of the holes on the back nine are a bit dangerous in terms of the usage of the road. Make sure to watch hole 15, as the tee shot is blind to anyone driving or walking from the left. If this tee was moved 15 feet to the right this problem would be solved. 17 and 18 also have the road coming into play and could potentially use some tweaking to get the road out of play, but as long as disc golfers are watching and being smart this shouldn't be a problem. With that in mind, disc golfers are not always watching and being smart....

Other Thoughts:

This is a great new addition to the greater Peoria area of disc golf courses. I would highly recommend this course. You'll get a nice challenge with some good deuce opportunities if you bide your time!
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