Review of Durand Disc Golf Course in Durand, Illinois: Intermediate Course with Risky Water Shots

Taking the advice of Jack, my dad and I met up with him and his friend Mike to play in Durand. Not only can you play this course during the day, but it also has a glow league to play in at night. Before considering the glow league, I’d play in the daylight, which is exactly what I did.

Hole 5.2

With Jack as our guide, we played the 20-hole course. After hole 5, we played hole 5.1 and 5.2. These holes wrap around and come back, so if you want to play the straight 18, you don’t have to walk a far distance from hole 5 to hole 6.

I loved this course not only because it’s the best I’ve played in a while, but it was the right amount of challenge for me, especially the back nine.

Defining shots on the front nine include hole 3, a short, technical hole. Although the hole is only 200 feet, the OB is tight. I would know because I shanked it and sent it over the home owner’s fence.

Another tricky shot is hole 4 around the tennis courts. Using a new grip on my Wraith, the power grip, I played my fade perfectly and parked it for a birdie shot, which I subsequently missed . . . I need to work on my putting.

What makes hole 4 difficult is the mando around the tennis courts. You cannot throw over or on the left side of the tennis courts. You must throw to the right of them. This makes it a challenging hole for LHBH throwers.

Hole 5’s basket, the feature photo on my courses page, hangs from a small shelter, not only creating a unique look but also adding an obstacle if you end up on the wrong side of it.

Hole 6 is the first hole with the danger of landing in the water. At 414 feet, you can either get across the creek on your first throw and work from safety for the rest of your shots, or you can get distance on the first throw then worry about crossing the creek.

As the creek runs year-round, we spent a decent amount of time rescuing Mike’s disc from the creek. Good thing Jack had a disc retriever, something I definitely need to invest in.

Holes 7 through 10 are rather boring for an intermediate player, but they would be perfect for a beginner. The shots are straight with no obstacles, all around 300 feet. Hole 10 is 403 feet, though.

Water becomes a factor again on holes 11 through 14. On 11 and 12, the river runs along the right side of the hole. In fact, Mike had to leave behind a disc on hole 12 that landed too far in the creek for us to use Jack’s disc retriever.

Holes 13 and 14 cross the pond. Even though most of the pond was frozen over, we threw from the short tee on 13, where I almost got my first ace! I threw my new MVP Tesla, and it skipped right in front of the basket. I followed this performance up with another good drive on hole 14, setting me up for par.

Aside from a fun layout, I like this course because its signs are clear. The sign states what hole you are on, the distance, and its par. It also gives you a graphic representation of the hole with an actual picture of the layout.

The downside to this course, however, are the teepads. Because we went after it had snowed, some of the teedpads were full of snow and icy, but that’s to be expected at any course. What I didn’t like was the inconsistency of teepads. Some were easy to find concrete pads, some were just the bare ground with the foul line designated by a red spray paint line, and others were defined by a blank of wood.

Had I not been playing with Jack, I wouldn’t have known where some foul lines were. Part of this may be due to the snow, but if there are concrete teepads for some, why not all of them?

For this course you’ll need a driver and putter. I found myself using a Tesla, Wraith, Leopard, Buzz, and Envy the most. For the shorter holes, you might want a fairway driver instead of a distance driver, but that’s up to you.

This is a really fun course during the day, and I can’t wait to try it out at night.

Fee	N/A
Holes	18 or 20
Teepad	Concrete on some, none on others

• South Center Street