West Park<---Joliet

[Eddie311]

just aced today i got it on 18 at west park so sweet blind shot i think its 330.. man it was so loud when i hit..I ran up and saw chill there  

[airspuds]

played here yesterday

ought to be a bottle ban at this course
lots of bottle tops in ground

again same comments

had 8  2's
3 4's

didnt drive that well
missed several putts

love the shorts here

next time reds

[tree]

I love the shorts but like the longs on occasion I missed playing there this year.

[Chainmeister]

I am travelling to St. Louis this weekend and was thinking of playing either at West Park in Joliet or Lincoln Park in Springfield on the way down.  Has anybody played both?  Any opinons?

I hope to play the course in Collinsville on the way back.

[airspuds]

west park     yes

lincoln   yes

douglas  shorter than lincoln
lots of 2's if pins are in short

[Chainmeister]

Thanks Air Spuds.  Lincoln park was very cool.  They now have concrete tees and appear to have long and short ones.  I played the short as I am not a heavy hitter. I did play out of my mind and scored 59 which is a heck of a lot better than the  72 72 I shot at the Blast.  

Nothing is marked and I walked to every basket before shooting.  Once they get it marked it will be a very fun course with some elevation changes and a long 9 and 18.  Lots of mature trees but no real tight holes such as the two at Bevier.

[airspuds]

from my inlaws place around shelbyville

ive played

lake carlye
effingham
springfield  lincoln
springfield  douglas
urbana   lohman

every course is still like 45 minutes away
but i like the springfield courses the best

[Chainmeister]

I used to go to Mattoon for work but never played Lake Carlyle or Effingham.  I have played the Urbana course.  I recall a lot of students were involved in sporting activities and I had to keep an eye out for them.;  I think some clubs or teams practiced in the park.  If you ever get farther south the St. Louis area has some real nice courses.  Sioux Passage is a favorite. However, I have not been there in years.  I did playWooodland Park in Collinsville yesterdayand it was a very nice and well marked course.  We went to eh Cardinals game on Fridaynight but I made sure to wear a Sox jersey.  From your Avatar, I suppose you would approve.

[airspuds]

heheheheheh

yes i do


i did get to play http://www.pdga.com/course/courses_by_city.php?id=529

when i was in fenton , mo   for vaca last year

[airspuds]

played the reds yesterday

did not score well
got some 2's
saved some 3's
a few 4's (this is why i am an am)

but it was a great day to be out

again  i would be all for a bottle ban on this course

[Mukey]

Brett,

If you're ever heading out this way I would be more than happy to play a round a West from the Reds with you. Unfortunately not all of the holes have Red tees, but the a few of the ones that do make you throw differently. My favorite has to be the Red for #4, which is back up the hill. Basically if you were playing #2, the Red for #4 is to your right about 30 feet. Makes for another great shot off of the hill.

#16 has to be one of the best holes there. No Reds for this one, but from what I see most people hated this hole. I usually throw a Tomahawk or Thumber there & get it down to the protector trees for a putt.

Littering has always been a problem here, but for how packed this course gets it COULD be worse, but not by much. More garbage cans would help, but vandalism here is rampant so i don't know how long they'd last.

[Mukey]

The creek DOES become a torrent when it rains. I've played there after it rained heavily and the creek was all the way up to the top of the bank on #11. So for it to push the wooden part of the bridge is not out of the question.

[CEValkyrie]

I will definitely let you know if we are planning on playing there. Over the past few years the only time i've played West Park is for the tournament. It's an ok short course but nothing spectacular. After a while I get tired of throwing my Roc & Putter the entire round. Since my first post i've played the red tees several times. I've heard many times Gary was thinking about redesigning the course to become a more challenging 18 hole course but i'm not sure if it's true or not. Usually if i'm heading down that way i'll play Mokena. Is #16 the downhill shot thru trees with basket right by road? It's a fun tight hole. I usually stick to the putter on that one.

[Mukey]

Brett,

#16 is the downhill through trees with the pin by the road. Putter usually works well there too, but having played the course a TON, I usually like to throw the Thumber or Tomahawk there for show.

Mokena is GREAT, but obligations kept me from playing the tournament there last year. Should be all OK this year, no one has announced a marriage or graduation yet.

[stpitner]

How good is this course compared to Mokena?  The guy we met up with today was raving about Mokena, but had good things to say about this course as well.  If it's not as good, is it because of the tees? placement of the baskets? length of each hole? mud?  Just curious before I go and make a drive that far south.

[Mukey]

Mokena is a better distance course & park, no doubt. West has Mokena beat as far as elevation, but the tees there are dirt and not concrete. Due to this, if any decent rain has fallen then the tees will be pretty muddy.
Red tees at West will provide more challenge, but if you're not familiar with them some aren't that easy to find.

Mokena will actually make you play position on some of it's longer holes, so I would suggest playing Mokena as a 1st stop if driving that far, and possibly West as a 2nd choice. Channy is also a good choice if you're making the trip, but the wind can be FIERCE there, so be warned.

[mtaudio]

Played West for the first time this summer 2 weeks ago (1st time since april)

WTF happened??!!!!???   The course got updated  and rerouted 

New baskets = Great
bridges/stairs rehabed= great
making #2 a hyzer shot =WTF!!!!!!

just wondering if anyone knew why changes were made?  the best reason I've heard from locals is the erosion around baskets...

[Mukey]

I'm not sure, but I think they changed it up to make West a bit more challenging.

As far as #2, if they hadn't made it a Hyzer then the people on tee #3 would be in jeopardy. Besides, it makes you play the Hyzer but keeps the creek in mind both going over & where you land.

West is still a mostly pitch-and-putt, but the changes have made it a bit more challenging. Only other thing that would be nice is if the 3 extra holes usually used for the tournaments could be up all the time. But I know that dog walkers want part of the park to walk their dogs, but no one picks up after the dogs do their business. 

Overall, I give the West re-design a 

[mtaudio]

I played West again over the weekend, and it felt a little better.....   you're right, 2 is a lot tougher now...   that creek forces you to really think about landing....  I managed to bounce a few into it    

speaking of tough hyzers, the new 20 takes the cake... can't even get it close from the tee

#3 would've been really cool if they had put the basket on the other side of the creek half way up the hill.  (course that requires yet another bridge)

Like the new 23 as well...

all in all, it's not bad....  I guess I just long for the nostalgia of the Old Layout

[Mukey]

I hear ya. I can't tell you how many times I've thrown there lately & not done as good as I should, saying to myself "woulda been a birdie on the old pin."