*Great use of elevation changes. Probably almost 60% of holes incorporate a hill to some degree, even though many of them are fairly subtle, like less than 20 feet
*Very well maintained. It's still possible to lose a disc, just because the nature of the underbrush, but it's very "clean" for the most part.
*Some great views, especially as sunset is approaching.
*That first wooded hole (12) feels fantastic to play after those wide open first 11. Very beautiful and peaceful.
*Hole 16 has a certain "wildcard" factor because of the penalty for not hitting the island. It's not impossible that a player with a 3-4 shot lead over his cardmates could end up in a tie situation if they fail to hit the island and their cardmate(s) birdie. Interesting equalizer with just two holes to go.
*very generous pars, especially from the short tees. Some of the par 4s really do feel like they should be 3s

*gets pretty busy a lot of evenings. If I see the main parking lot overflowing, I just turn around and go play Orchard Hills
*I wish there were more wooded holes. There are really only three, possibly four, depending on how you think of it. I like the wide open hilly holes, but there are like 5 of them and I wish they would have traded a few of them for some wooded holes.

Overall, totally solid course. I played the short tees until I could pretty consistently end up under par, and then (mainly) switched to the longs, and will continue with those until I can start consistently ending up under par. This will probably be my main course until I can consistently start ending up under par, at which point I'll probably try to conquer Elver from the longs.

- Two tee pads and 3 rotating basket positions.
- Plenty of elevation in play.
- Long pads test the average players distance
- Good use of the limited amount of woods.
- Well maintained park.

- Limited parking spaces for busy days.
- Not a whole lot of variety. Minus the 5 holes that play in/along the woods it is a hyzer fest.
- If you get off the fairway good luck finding your disc.

Overall it is a decent course. The elevation changes create a little extra challenge to the otherwise simple course. The short tee pads are very beginner friendly while the long pads challenge the average players power. Not as busy as the city courses tend to be but can still get packed depending on the day and time you play.

Capital Springs is a open, slightly hilly course at a county park. The "Pros" of Capital Springs are that the fairways are always well manicured and always mowed. Each hole has three pins placements that rotate every week, usually on Wednesday mornings. Every hole has a long and short tee pad. The course uses is elevation well. It's not super hilly but has gently rolling hills that the course traverses over. The course is pretty much wide open in a prairie with only three "wooded" holes. And even the wooded holes are pretty open with not a lot of trees in the fairway. The course is medium length with a couple shorter holes and a couple longer holes, but most of the holes are around 290 ft - 320 ft.

There are not a lot of cons to Capital Springs other than if you get off the fairway it can be hard to find your disc as the rough is a prairie. Also Capital Springs can be tough if it is a windy day as the course is wide open.

Capital Springs is the most beginner friendly course out of the 4 courses in the Madison area. It is a fun course and there is nothing super challenging about it. Also Capital Springs doesn't get as busy as Hiestand or Elver on weekday afternoons.

- Exquisitely maintained. Some of the best I've played. Fairways are mowed and the course was spotless in terms of trash and the like when I was there. Garbage cans and benches on many holes. Even the couple woods hole had lush but mowed grass fairways. It was like a ball golf course.
- It's really a very pretty, scenic area. In a different sort of way then walking through the woods is scenic, but honestly I was kind of struck by it. It's off in rolling meadows and farmland, but it's quiet and secluded and full of wildlife. We saw hawks and sandhill cranes flying overhead during our round.
- Nice use of elevation.
- Nice variation in distances. Some ace runs, some spots to pull out the distance driver.
- Great tee signage
- Two teepads at every hole and three potential basket locations.
- Very intuitive layout. Won't get lost here.
- There aren't many wooded holes, but hole 12 (the first woods hole) is honestly one of the prettiest disc golf holes I think I've ever played. Island hole is also fun.
- Disc Golf only area
- Approachable. Good course for newer players or if you're tired off getting your butt kicked by the tougher area courses.

- The main con to this course is it's a little bland. While they try to mix it up somewhat, there's too many instances of throw straight down the grass fairway to the basket in the field. They do compensate a bit by playing with elevation and there are a few (very nice) wooded holes but on the whole not enough variation/obstacles.
- $8/day is too rich imo. Now, it's clear that it's well maintained, so maybe I shouldn't complain about the price, but I would suggest playing multiple rounds or also hitting Token Creek (pass is good for that course as well) to really get your money's worth
- It's pretty easy, which isn't really a con to me (since there are harder courses nearby if you want them) but may be to some.

Capital Springs, being the other Dane County Parks course, is the sister course to Token Creek. In the same way that Elver invites comparisons to Hiestand, CS invites comparison to Token Creek. In that context, while it doesn't have many of the cons that Token Creek does (noise, navigation) it also does not have many of it's pros (length, 27 holes). To be quite honest however, I had lower expectations for this course and it pleasantly exceeded them. Especially after Hole 1 (one of the blandest on the course, a straight throw up a slight hill wide open fairway to an unprotected basket) I wasn't expecting as much, but the holes slowly improved, particularly on the back 9. The woods holes are gorgeous, I wish there were more. But there's still some variation and they worked with what they had. It's also worth noting that there are many young trees/saplings that have been planted on this course. Perhaps in 10-15 years some of those wide open fairways will have some more obstacles and challenge. I would also mention again how well maintained the course was - very nice. You also don't have as many instances of disc eating rough that you do with Token Creek. I also enjoyed the beautiful, quiet setting, and the smaller crowds, despite the close proximity to the isthmus/downtown (also a plus in my book). Unfortunately, one cannot rate this course without comparison to the other "big 4" 18+ holers in the Madison area (Elver/Hiestand/Token Creek) and in comparison this one is probably 4th. However, there were still many things I really enjoyed and really only 2 cons, that being the lack of variety and the price. I really wanted to give this a 4, but I just couldn't with the deciding factor being what you get for $8. Maybe if it was free it would be a 4, but I settled for a 3.5 (more like a 3.75 if I were allowed). Still, a fun little 18 hole course, great clean setting, and I will be back plenty.

This is a great course to have in the Madison area. Well maintained, decent elevation changes, and never terribly busy. Great views. Just a bit off the Beltline and Madison proper, but is still a very peaceful place to play.

Not terribly difficult holes, but still good course over all. BRING BUG SPRAY or the mosquitoes can carry you away. FYI for parents: If you have kids of a young age, even the little bit of elevation change on this course can be exhausting pushing a stroller.

Probably the most under rated course in Madison. Nice that it's never super busy. Beautiful place to play a round. Not terribly difficult, nice wide fairways, but still takes control to stay out of the rough.

Well manicured course that's fun, but not terribly challenging. Nice views, no crowds, and great wildlife watching. It's not uncommon to have a pair of sandhill cranes cruise over the fairways during play, which adds a pretty cool 'intangible' element to Capital Springs.

The front nine is ho-hum with a few legit ace opportunities from the am tees and, if you have a big arm, from the blues. The back nine is more interesting and slightly more challenging, but if you're playing from the whites it's still pretty easy to par every hole.

This is a fun course for trying out discs, working on your finesse shots, and going for the chains off the tee. If you throw from the blues it's considerably longer and slightly more difficult.

Almost all the holes are hyzer shots and easily par-able from the white tees, even for intermediate players.

Many of the trees that were planted to create some obstacles on the course are dead or dying, which adds to the "ho hum" feeling on the first 8-10 holes.

There isn't a notable signature hole, though holes 12-14 are more challenging and more interesting.

It's $8 to play for the day, or $48 for a year-long Dane County Disc Golf permit, which is good for this course and Token Creek. I'm new to town and haven't played Token yet, but the pay-to-play feels very steep for this course. It if wasn't so well maintained/manicured, I wouldn't think of paying the fee. I'd go elsewhere.

All-in-all this is a fun course that has actually improved my game by allowing me to huck my discs without fear of losing them. Having a course in my rotation that allows me to get acquainted with my discs feels like a luxury. I'd rather play a round than go to a football field and throw for the sake of throwing, so Capital Springs really fits the bill.

+ Capital Springs is a very well maintained course. The grass is never too high, trash is picked up, etc...

+ The use of multiple tees and multiple pin placements adds replay-ability and variety to an otherwise bland course.

+ The course equipment is great. Tee signs, tees, and baskets are in top-notch shape.

+ There are several holes where players can throw wide open distance shots, but there are also wooded technical shots as well as precision shots (including #16 as an island green).

+ In general, the isolated prairie setting is quiet serene. It's calming and peaceful and allows the player to "escape" their normal lives for a while.

+ I'd say this course is great as an introduction for beginners and a pretty good practice course for advanced players. Some birdies are definitely easier than others.

- I played here during the Am Worlds week, so the courses were free, but I would never, ever pay $8 to play a round here. That's absurd. While it's nice to have benches behind every long tee or whatever, I don't think P2P is appropriately used here (in a public park).

- There aren't really any "oh wow!" holes. One could argue that #9 and and #18 are fun downhill holes, but they're not breath-taking by any means.

- The front 9 is pretty bland. While some of the tees/baskets were surrounded by boulders adding an aesthetic effect, the holes aren't difficult at all.

All in all, this was a fun course to check off the list.

In summary:

Would I come back if it were free? Maybe.
Will I pay $8 to come back? No way.

This place has the best grass I have ever seen on a disc golf course. Maybe the best grass I have ever seen in any park. Really. Most amazing turf ever. Makes good use of elevation change. Makes good used of the wooded area on a few holes. Wide fairways. A few holes make you go right or left (on most you have the option of coming in from either direction). Easy layout to follow.

Some redundancy in hole design. Not many obstacles.

Great course for beginners. Long enough to offer some challenge to more experience players as well. I don't know who does the turf maintenance here, but it is phenomenal. Fun course. For the simplicity of the layout I would typically rate a course like this no higher than 3.0, however.....with such immaculate course maintenance, this place definitely deserves a 3.5.

Capital Springs is a scenic course that is mostly open with the exception of 4 holes in the middle of the round. Here is what I liked about the course:

*Options: Looking for a longer course to stretch out your arm? Look no further than the long pads here. Looking for a beginner friendly course? The shorts offer that. Both sets of pads are well marked and in great condition.

*Elevation: elevation comes into play on almost all of the open holes. Downhill drives are fun!

*Maintenance: The course is very well maintained, with benches, tee signs at both sets of pads, multiple pin placements, etc. There is an island hole with a concrete drop zone and sign that clearly outlines the rules for how to play the hole.

The best hole on the course from the longs is a 400 ft downhill dogleg right with a fairway lined with heavy woods on the right and some giant trees scattered on the left side. It's followed by the second best hole on the course, a 420 ft wooded shot with some serious "go for it" appeal.

Even from the longs, Capital Springs lacks variety. With the exception of 4 or 5 holes, all of the drives here are hyzer shots off the tee. There were times during my round where it felt like I was throwing down the hill, then up, then down again, then up again.

Overall, Capital Springs was a nice course that I am looking forward to playing again. Nothing mind blowing here, just a nice round in a nice park.

(I have not seen the other course/courses that are in this Park system, so I really can't say whether the annual pass is worth its price or not).

Very well maintained course. Benches and trash cans at every teepad. No graffiti or vandalism. Pay-to-play envelopes provided at kiosk. Scorecards and pencils also provided at kiosk.

Great use of available elevation. Coursing up, down and around the Native American Effigy Mounds. Mostly open prairie golf but with a couple nice wooded holes.

Pro and Am Tees.

Multiple basket positions.

Great beginner course, par is favorable and will keep beginners spirits up and keep them excited about playing.

$8 for a day pass, really Dane County? Madison courses, though I'm sure they get a lot more traffic, are only $5. This really wouldn't have bothered me as much if the course were more challenging for my skill set.

My friend and I really enjoyed our round out there. Very quiet and scenic setting. Hole #12 to me is the signature hole for the course and is just plain beautiful.

My friend has only been playing disc golf for about 2 months now but is noticeably better than when he started. He enjoyed the course immensely and was happy to see that he could make it from his house to the course using the trail system that runs adjacent to the park.

We kept score with the available scorecards as well as our Udisc apps. We chose to score everything as par 3 on Udisc and compared our scores to the course card. I shot +1 on Udisc, -9 on the scorecard. Buddy shot +15 on Udisc, +6 on the scorecard.

This is a great course if you are just starting out and don't have a ton of power yet. Even if you're a seasoned player looking to get better while playing in some wind, you can really see how it can affect your discs differently uphill, downhill, tailwind, headwind and across the fairways.

The course is very hilly and that combined with the wind that seems constant out there, makes it more challenging than one might expect. It has a tendency to play like the wide open British courses in ball golf. The wind will also bother your putts. Many would under rate this course based on the short length alone, but those of us who play it once a week and know the wind can attest otherwise.

The few wooded holes are of exceptional quality, though the obstacles begin with #11 and end at #15.

It's not very challenging to a skilled player, even from the pro tees, though it would be a great introduction to the game for younger players.

It's not a great course, but it is worth the time to play once if you are passing through the area and have time to hit up every course in the area.

It is perhaps the most secluded and scenic of the courses in Madison. Whereas one can see the urban landscape easily from all the other courses, and in the case of Token Creek, hear the freeway noise for at least the first 10 holes, there is only one place where you can see anything of the urban landscape. It's very quiet, it's near a watershed restoration, there is a creek running along the bike path, and hawks and sandhill cranes are plentiful (it also borders a dog park if you want to add that to your excursion).

18 hole course set in a park in Madison, WI. Also has a dog park next to it.

Really nice concrete tee pads. Long, wide, brushed...everything you could need. Two tee pads per hole. They are also set level, so longer run ups will be ok.

DGA baskets, all in good repair, and mounted well. Three pin positions on most holes. No issues here.

Great signage, as with most courses in the Madison area. Distances, pin locations, topography. It would be cool if there was an indicator of which pin was in, but it was easy to deduce on most holes.

Decent use of the elevation available. This is the biggest factor in shot selection here.

Nice (albeit small) section of wooded holes. If only the whole course was these...

Nice array of distances, for the most part. There's no 600' crushers here, but there's plenty of distance for most people.

Cap is mostly wide open, with the hill providing the main obstacle. From holes 11-15, there are some nice wooded shots, though.

During summer, the rough here is going to be ROUGH. This is disc eating, hiding, badass rough. Even in the relatively small patches, when this stuff is tall and full, you're going to have a heck of a time finding discs. In fall, not so bad.

P2P, which isn't always bad, but kinda is here. $8/day isn't too bad if you pair this with Token Creek....but by itself, it's pretty ridiculous.

When the rough is down, this is a fun, easy going course. When the rough is tall, I imagine this place can piss you off, especially if the wind is blowing (which I imagine it almost always is, as it's very open). A great place to work on elevation-based shots, for sure.

In the pantheon of Madison area courses, this one doesn't rate too highly, but that doesn't mean it's not a halfway fun round. I'd suggest hitting this an Token Creek to get your full $8/day pass worth of fun, though.

Overall, the course is in great condition and located in a nice, scenic area. The tee pads and baskets are top notch as the course is only a few years old. The fairways and greens are also groomed very well, the signage is nice, and trash cans on every hole. It's a great course if you're a beginner or if you're trying to work on your short game/mid-range shots.

The course is too open and too short, although this provides plenty of ace opportunities...on almost every hole.

Personally, I thought this course was boring since it is not very challenging, but if you're looking to improve your short game and approach shots, I would recommend going to this course. It also plays quite fast if you are running short on time, otherwise I would recommend going to Elver, Token, or Heistand if you're looking for more of a challenge.

Each hole offers its own unique challenge with multiple tees and pin positions. There are four holes that utilize the surrounding woods, which add the the challenge and variety to the course. Garbage cans at every hole and benches every few holes. Plenty of space as there aren't any other park entities that interfere with the course. There's a large dog park next to the course, which is nice too.

There's a bird that lives in the tree near the basket on Hole 10. Someone needs to shoot this bird because it will dive bomb anyone that comes somewhat near the tree (which includes all hole locations for that hole).
The rough on Holes 12 and 13 can be pretty bad mid summer. Have a good eye for where your disc goes if you head into the rough.

-Very nice, clean, minimalist signs.

-A gorgeous course with two tees per hole and three pin positions.

-This course has a lot of elevation changes that are challenging but fun. It also has some wooded holes that are a bit more technical but fun and not punishing. Bonus: island hole!

-The day pass is pretty expensive, and if you're just passing through, I don't really think it's worth it. For people that live in the area, though, the season pass is definitely worthwhile. (You need only play five days of golf here or at Token Creek for the seasonal pass to be worth the investment.)

-The front half of the course gets a little repetitive. While the holes themselves are fun, many of them are similar. (Throw up and then back down a hill in several repetitions.)

I can't count this as a con because I haven't experienced it myself, but a friend told me that a few weeks into the season the course becomes unbearable for the bugs. If you're trying it out mid June or later, definitely bring bug spray.

This is a great addition to the other courses in the area, with the course being predominantly wide open and short, allowing for a solid shorter course for beginners and juniors to enjoy.

variety- This course although mainly open, uses the few trees found in the course to create a few different lines and make the course a little more interesting. The elevation found in this park is brought into use in some very well-thought out ways, and makes for some very fun and interesting uphill testers and downhill ace runs.

Navigation- The course is very easy to navigate, due to the close proximity of the baskets to the next tees, and the course itself is fairly easy to find.

Amenities- The course seems as if it is always well taken care of, and the grass is always cut. The tee signs on this course serve their purpose, providing accurate distances and maps of the holes and their respective pin placements. The tees are nice poured concrete, and provide a good teeing surface.

At the time that I played the course, towards the end of the summer, the mosquitos were very bad, and I would definitely recommend some type of bug spray.

The $8 fee to play the course, is quite steep, and I would not encourage such high fees, as the course fees may discourage the beginners that the course is intended for.

Other than the few wooded holes, most of the shots are fairly bland, and most holes can be birdied with a well executed hyzer shot.

Please note that even though I gave this course a 3, that is still considered good on this site, and I consider this a good course, but it is a little to open and short to be considered to be as good as its rating suggests.

The designer made good use of the land available, utilizing the land available to its fullest, and incorporating the woods in the best way possible. The property as a whole is fairly open, and the designer did the best they could, incorporating elements, suchas trees, landscaping, and elevation to add variety.

The course is set up in a nice park in an area that is dedicated to disc golf only. The baskets are all beautiful brand new Mach 5's. These catch great and are one of the best baskets out there. There are two sets of great concrete tees on every hole. These are all level and grip very nicely. The tee signs here are decent. They have the hole #, par, distances and the 3 pin locations marked. These serve their purpose just fine. These are the exact same type they have at Token creek, capital Springs sister course. There's a decent amount of elevation change here. That combined with the wind are going to be the main challenges here. The course is very well maintained. There are multiple benches and trash cans throughout the course. The navigation here is a breeze. The course flows awesome from hole to hole. There's a nice large kiosk at the parking lot with a nice map and other disc golf info posted on it. There's also a restroom here which is nice. The wooded holes on 12-14 and 15 slightly to an extent at the end are the best part of this course for sure. The "island" hole on 16 is very cool. They have one on just like this at Token Creek too. It helps make up for some of the lack of other obstacles.

the $8 a day to play this course is insane. If you couple it with Token creek it makes it a lot easier to stomach the cost. These two together at least make it worthwhile for the price. Almost every hole here feels the same as the last. The course is seasonal so it's not up during the winter. This is a con as this would actually be a really fun winter course. Not really a con as there's nothing anyone can do about it but the mosquitoes are insane on the few, actually fun wooded holes. We played in late September and there were literally clouds of them. I've only seen worse on a few courses ever. Seriously. It kind of stinks because it makes it hard to enjoy the few enjoyable holes here. The prairie rough can get pretty rough in the summer I'd imagine.

This course is just not very exciting. Period. 13 of the 18 have literally no trees in play. It's just wide open prairie holes. It's a great course for newbies. Many ace opportunities can be had here, but for even average players this will just be a bland course. Don't go out of your way to play here. If you're in the area Hiestand and Elver are way superior and are "only" $5 a day to play both. With that said this is still a fun course, just not very challenging to most experienced players. I'd bump this rating up quite a bit if it weren't for the price.

-Course maintenance is exceptional. It's always in great condition, and as a pay-to-play course, it's great to see the money being put to use rather than sit in someone's pocket.
-As someone who's new to disc golf, I appreciate the shorter length of the course. It's nice to realistically shoot close to par and have a birdie chance here and there.
-Beautiful location. The prairie scenery in the Capital Springs area is great, and the course does an excellent job at utilizing it.
-Even though there's many other activities offered nearby, the course itself is for disc golf only. The dog park and bike paths are adjacent, but completely out of play. There aren't any non-disc golfers wandering the course.
-The back 9 offers a nice variety of holes, and the "Island Green" on 16 provides the challenge of hitting an island green without worrying about actually losing a disc.
-Practice basket near the 1st tee is always a nice touch.
-Hole #9 finishes near the parking lot, which is nice if you only have time for a quick 9, or you can also easily start on #10 to play the back 9 first.

-Not much variety on the front 9. These holes are all straight and open. The only real difference between one and another is that some go uphill and some go downhill. There's 3 different basket locations, but in all honesty, they don't change much.
-Mosquitoes are thick in the woods, which comprises holes 12-14. It's to be expected in this part of the country in the summer, and it's only a few holes, but still worth noting.
-The rough is a little on the severe side. I've never felt like I was going to lose a disc in the prairie, but if you miss the fairway you may be looking for a while. In all honesty, though, it's not really any worse than most of the other courses in the area in the summer.
-This isn't a factor for me, but the pro tees don't add much to the course. On most holes, they do nothing more than add distance, and it's usually not a significant amount.
-There are indicators to show which basket is in place, but they don't always seem to match the one that is in. Not too big of an issue since you can see the basket from the tee on almost every hole.

All in all, this is a solid, simple course. It can be handled by a novice, but it's maintained like a championship course. I imagine more experienced players wouldn't find Capital Springs much of a challenge apart from working on their approach shots and putting. This is my "home course," so I've played it probably more than I would if I lived on the other side of town. Unless you do live close, I wouldn't get the $48 pass strictly for Capital Springs. However, it's a nice bonus to Vallarta-Ast, which I'm sure is the main draw for the pass. For those coming from outside the Madison area, I'd plan on playing Vallarta the same day and use Capital Springs as a warmup to make the $8/day worth it.

Like its sister Dane County course Vallarta-Ast, it's immaculately maintained, with good tee signage showing the hole.

The layout does make good use of the hillside it's built on and around.

It's short. If you've got good accuracy off the tee, this is the place to go if you want to farm some aces. If you're new to the game, you don't need a monster arm to make par.

It's short, even from the long tees. I don't think there's a single hole that a pro couldn't do in 2 throws.

You're not too far from Madison's wastewater plant, so it can smell a little funky as you're on the north side of the course in the woods (12-14)

The mosquitos on 12-14 can be crazy. I played the day after some rain, and I had to basically run 12-14 to avoid leaving a pint low on blood.

I don't think it's worth the $8 day rate by itself yet. I live a few minutes from Vallarta, so having a 2nd course on my annual pass is just a bonus.

With trees growing in to add challenge to a few more holes on the front 9, I could bump this up to a 3.5 rating. Without retooling, I don't think you could really make it long enough to be a pro-caliber course.

Like its sister course, Vallarta-Ast, this course is incredibly well maintained. It has nice signs, concrete tees boxes, benches, and trash cans at nearly every hole. The fairways are well-marked by mowing. The relatively short holes also makes this a great option for quick rounds.

There is a definite lack of variety, as most holes are wide open. A few of the holes will get more difficult as trees along the fairways mature.

This course fills a good niche in the area. As others have noted, the holes run short; nearly all are ace candidates. But I don't think this makes the course easy or boring. I see it as an exercise in precision and control. It's very easy to overshoot baskets and end up in deep rough. What this course lacks in shaped shots it makes up for in demanding accuracy.

As the course matures, it might rank as "excellent." For now, I will call it "good," with an added bonus for being so immaculate.