This is a fun, unique 9 hole course with beautiful scenery and surprising challenge for a college campus course. Here's some of the pros:

- Gorgeous views of the surrounding foothills off the first tee and when you end your round at the #9 basket. Never played a course that is this elevated compared to the surrounding countryside.
- Little in the way of undergrowth plants in your way. That's tough to maintain in dense woods courses like this one, so you have to appreciate the effort to keep it down. And the day I played some campus facilities workers were cutting down some of the dead trees all over the hilltop too. That'll make it safer and may open up a couple fairways a bit better too.
- Two baskets per hole. I played the longs and can vouch that they are definitely more challenging. Would have had a couple easy birdies if I'd been playing the short baskets... oh well! Par seems like a good score on the longs due to the dense woods and how much longer their distances are.
- Detailed tee signs and there's a practice basket right by the first tee.
- Great elevation change and variety, with challenging uphills (#1 and #5), birdie-able downhills (#2 and #4), and some sidehills and a valley cross (#8) thrown in too.
- Long concrete tees.
- Just off Interstate 81 so it can be a fun road trip stop.

- Location is a bit odd and not the easiest to find. I ended up driving past the light and had to circle back. It really is tucked back in past a neighborhood and all the athletic facilities in a strange spot. Just remember it's on the top of the hill, so drive to the very end cul-de-sac and you'll find the welcome sign.
- The terrain is pretty rocky, so dings on softer discs are likely.
- No water hazards and no true open 'bomb' opportunity (#9 comes the closest).
- Supposedly private due to the university parking lot, but come on off days or outside the school year (ex: summer or winter holidays) and it looks like no one will care that you're here.

- I was kind of excited after reading the prior reviews, and this course didn't let me down. Definitely one of the more challenging 9 holers out there. The park seems well maintained, and the fairway lines require accuracy but they're all fair.

- Could be easily combined with nearby Westover Park for a fun day of disc golf in Harrisonburg.

University Park at James Madison is a fun, challenging 9-hole course. You better be in shape, or you'll get a complete workout while only playing a half-course.
- This is a hilly, wooded layout. From the parking lot, you walk up a hill...and then you walk straight up the hill to play hole #1. The good news is that you can roll downhill on hole #2, and end up back in the parking lot.
- Course's biggest challenges center around the elevation factor. Uphill shots are going to be woefully short; downhiller or sidehillers could sail away from you if you're not careful. Throw in some unlucky bounces off trees and you might end up with some crazy second shots.
- The fairways are more than fair, even with the number of trees in play. There's little to no underbrush on most holes. So even on the holes I missed the fairway, I still had lines towards the basket, being able to salvage par.
- The scenery and natural feel is wonderful. From the opening field (#1 tee & #2 basket), you get an amazing view back over the town and of the mountains in the distance. You're also above all the noise of the interstate and other roads, so it's quite peaceful.
- #7 & 8 were my favorite two holes on the course. Two downhillers with #7 being a slight dogleg right (short tee) and 8 being a more dramatic dogleg left. On both holes, you're far better off going dead straight than curving off too early and ending in the woods. For me, and my exhausted self, these were the closest things I had to birdie chances during the round.
- Great tee signs. They're simple, clear, and concise descriptors of the hole, and of the next tee. You could easily decipher how the fairway was shaped, and where you should place your shot. Some tee signs get too complicated and aren't helpful. These signs were the perfect mix of simple and informative.

The holes started blending together as they all started feeling similar. Both uphillers play the same: throw long, throw a second shot and have an easy putt for 3. Other holes all have the same strategy, even if they're different: throw straight, and you'll have a long birdie putt or a simple up-and-down. There wasn't a secret sauce for this course.
- Holes do play close together. If this course ever has much traffic, you'll need to keep an eye out for players on other holes.
- No benches, trash cans, or other ammenities on the course itself. You're 3 minutes from gas stations and restaurants, so it's not a real issue.
- Course is technically private. I was the only vehicle in the parking lot when I played on a Sunday afternoon. You may have more issues trying to play and/or park here during busier times. I suspect the less attention you draw to yourself, the less chance you'll have an issue playing.

James Madison's 9-holer is a fun, quick play. It'd be fun seeing an 18-hole version of this course.
- This is an easy course to get to, less than 5 off of I-81. If you're driving the interstate and need an excuse to stretch your legs, this is a good place to stop for 30 minutes.
- This was a good compliment to Westover Park 10 minutes away. The drive between courses took me right past campus and through the historic downtown. There were some good looking spots to stop and grab a bite and brew. I did stop by Kline's Dairy Bar, a fantastic ice cream shop that makes a wonderful, cheap peanut butter milkshake. On a 90-degree afternoon, that was the perfect food choice.
- This is one of the better 9-hole courses I've played. That said, there is a lot of unused woods in this entire area. I like this as a 9-holer. I like the idea of this being a great 18-hole layout even more.

This course has [almost] everything you'd want in a top-caliber 9-hole course.

Firstly, there are actually 18 permanently installed DISCatchers. The concept of two baskets per hole, permanently installed at that, is a little foreign for me. It can't truly call itself, or even function as an 18 for tournaments and such, but does provide consistent variety.

The tee pads are very well made, large and concrete. I love seeing Virginia use concrete pads as that is what I'm used to in NC courses. It's without a doubt the best surface to throw from and I appreciated it greatly.

The tee signs and other amenities (trash/recycling) were among the best I've ever seen. You can tell a lot of care was taken to make things look professional here and it really pays off. I'd be proud to call it my home course.

Flashbacks of NC courses abound out here. Steep elevation changes and tight wooded shots are the norm.

There is ample challenge out here, especially with the longer pin positions. There are a few risk/reward shots that will have you second-guessing. Birdie's aren't gimmies and will have to be earned.

There isn't the variety I'd like to see in a top-notch course. Sure, there are 9 alternate baskets, but they're still just alternate wooded locations in most cases. I'd like to see a few "open" holes, but I doubt this plot of land has anything to offer for that.

The location is at the very end of an athletic-field setup and honestly a little odd if you ask me. It's located essentially at the back end of a student parking lot on the hill.

I don't have much more in the way of cons. Everything is there to keep me coming back, but the lack of variety is what'll keep me from doing it often. You won't test all of your game here, but what you do test, you'll thoroughly enjoy doing it.

You can tell whoever put this in knew what they we're doing. Their hands were likely tied when it came to available land, as this is on a college campus, but they did a great job with what they had.

If, by chance, their hands weren't tied, I'd recommend trying to get a legit 18 hole course in with more shot variety. They already have the baskets, it would simply be a logistical issue. Good luck!

Variety of shots and elevation. Used a whole bag of tricks.

9 holes but the multiple pins helps with that but they're still the same holes just with a 10-20% difference.

Overall this is one of my favorite 9 hole courses that I've played. The tight woods forces accuracy. The elevation changes force good disc selection. I like a course that punishes a mistake and your score can get up there at University Park when that happens.

Great tee pads and signs. Great parking area. Score cards on the first tee box. Challenging fairways, must use control and placement on every hole.

This is a new course and you can tell. They need to do quite a bit of cleanup on the fairways. There are still some small trees that probably need to be removed before they grow and really disrupt the fairways. Lots of debris on the ground. One hole plays vey near an apartment complex and discs can go down. This could be a major problem eventually. They need to put a fence up to protect the apartments.

There were lots of bugs, it is played entirely in the woods for the most part. One plays from open into the woods and nine plays from woods out into the open. There are nine holes, but two placements for each hole ( short and long). I liked this course and it is a good alternative to Westover if you are in the area. I will definitely be playing this one again.

Nice use of terrain and vegetation. Concrete pads. Alternate pin positions. Lots of parking. Flow from one hole to the next fairly obvious

Didn't yet have sign posts in place. Only 9 holes. No water or restrooms near the course (though there should be some at the sports pavilion, I didn't check.) A lot of trees were cut down around #9, which has opened the hole up too much, in my opinion.

No benches, or bag hooks, but it is early yet on this course.

I played in the winter, so the trees had not yet leafed out, which may affect visibility.