Pros:
-a layout of short but often very tight holes that i found fun
-well defined fairways but with very dense rough
-makes good use of some minor elevation changes
-large, color-coded signs that are visible from afar
-i found navigation to be easy and straight forward
-Mach baskets in good condition
-concrete tees, very small but mostly sufficient
-plenty of parking at the start of both courses
Cons:
-TICKS! there are tons in the summer months. i played in Sept and had a few crawling around on me post-round and another hitched a ride on something and ended up attached to my leg a few days later. check yourself after your round and keep an eye out for a few days.
-the rough is punishing but i didn't have any issues with lost discs, even with the two noobs i brought with me. but there are dense cedars, very tall grass, poisonous plants, and ticks, of course.
-some of the holes are almost gimmicky with unrealistic lines to the basket. if you want to play it safe on blind holes and avoid overhand throws, you may be laying up a putter 100'-150' (looking at you, hole 4)
-the concrete tees are rather small. the fairways are short so you don't really need a run-up but a few of them are a little bit awkward.
-the signs have the hole number and a distance that may or may not be accurate. does not show the layout of the hole and there are many blind holes.
-short but perhaps too challenging for beginners. challenging but perhaps not enough for more experienced players.
Other Thoughts:
The Red course at Arcadia Lake is a tight, wooded, finesse course. The holes are all under 300', maybe even 250', but are mostly tightly wooded with well-defined fairways and a dense rough of tall grass, cedar, and other trees. There are slight variations in elevation with about 10'-15' up or down on a handful of holes.
The equipment is serviceable. The baskets are in good condition and the signs are highly visible and aid navigation. That said, the signs only have the hole number and distance, the latter of which seemed inaccurate at least a few times.
There are many right-turning fairways and also many blind shots off the tee. The holes are short so too much scouting is not required but you'll need to take a look ahead on at least a few holes. There are overhand or FH&BH spike shots that give you access to the green on some of the more gimmicky holes (3, 4, 10) but with the thick rough it's a big gamble if you don't have spotters.
The design from 1993 is short and challenging but seems to lack a target audience in today's game. It's too short to be that interesting for very experienced players but the rough is too intimidating for beginners. Perhaps in the winter it plays better for newer players. For the rec level player, it actually has a lot of fun but short two-shot holes mixed in with some reachable birdies if you can keep it in the fairway.
For the record, the pics look far different from the course as it looks now. The trees lining the fairways have grown taller and the rough is thicker. That said, holes 11-15 all have lost a number of the trees directly in the middle of the fairways, creating more realistic lines and improving the playability of those holes.
For $6-7, you'll want to stick around and play both courses and maybe go for a swim or even make use of some of the other amenities. You can get a very similar experience on a slightly longer course for free at Tye Cunningham. I brought two inexperienced friends and we all had a good time and lost no discs.
Make sure to check yourself for ticks after your round and for a few days after that too. There is Lyme's present in this region and you don't want to mess around with that. I was bitten and took a dose of doxycycline just to be safe.
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