Pros:
McNaughton Park is a killer 18 hole course. Pro caliber from the gold tees, and still a good test from the blues. Grassy fairways play through mature woods, between rows of thick brushy rough, and finishes on a mostly wide open area with a very long hole. There are fairly large elevation changes on a few holes, and water is in play on a couple of others.
Two sets of concrete tees play to Chainstar baskets. A good course map is posted near the first tee. Par is 56 on the shorter blue tees, 58 for the long gold layout. I played the gold layout, which beat me up. Four holes are in the 300' and under range. The par fours are all in the final 5 on the back 9.
I liked the way the course sort of goes through phases, changing as you play through. Holes 1 and 2 are play downhill and are pretty open. There are trees in front of the basket as you approach 1, and they can grab you if you get too far to the right or go long on 2. 3 enters the woods and uses clusters of trees to form a hard right turn in the fairway. 4 is a really fun downhill drive with a few trees to avoid on the way down to the pin. Holes 5, 6, and 7 have less change in elevation, but it's there, along with trees to shape the tee shots. The pond sits to the left of hole 7. Hole 8 plays over the point of the pond, but it's no real danger unless you miss badly to the left. Hole 9 was one of my favorite holes. It plays downhill with trees and the shore of the pond to the left, and more dense growth along the right side. A corridor is formed running down a steady slope to the basket.
10 turns and plays back uphill, with slope dropping to the right side of the fairway that can cause a tough roll. Around hole 11 majority of the rough starts to become the heavy green that can be tough to exit if you leave the fairway. The heavy fringe does serious shaping of drives and forming walls edging the grassy center lines. This portion of the course also has much less elevation change. 16 has the road on the left, the right is heavy rough and the center is sprinkled with trees. 17 and 18 are in the open grass across the street, with just a couple of trees here and there. 18 is a big arm special at 849 from the gold tee atop the hill.
Cons:
Heavy leaves drifted in places at the time of my visit in the second week of November. Not much you can do about that. It was my last disc golf road trip before the winter cold moved in for 2022.
Tee signs and directional aid would be a nice add in some spots. Some of the baskets were pretty aged visually. They all performed fine, but can be tough to spot at a distance.
Other Thoughts:
I loved all of the big hills and woods through the first 10 holes. The maze of hedgerows effect and distances on 11 through 15 are a good challenge.
The last couple of holes were sort of bland, and 18 is a doozy in terms of length, but not the most awe inspiring finisher.
I did like the course a lot in totality. It was no walk in the park, figuratively. I had no birdies, and finished at +16 (74) off the long tees. Ouch. I would like to get in a few more courses in the Peoria area, and this is one I could easily see myself revisiting.