Pros:
- Great technical golf with a variety of hazards and shots required despite short length.
- Lovely, well kept park is enjoyable to play through.
- Quality baskets and tee signs. Tee pads are an interesting mix but perfectly adequate.
Cons:
- Average fairway length of about 225 feet limits challenge for more experience players.
- Potential for conflict with other park users is present in several locations.
- Potential for losing discs in high ground foliage.
Other Thoughts:
Black Bear Park is an interesting little course tucked away in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. I don't think I've every played a course quite so integrated with a trail in a multi-use park. I've certainly never had to wait to tee off on the first hole of a course to allow a woman to walk down the paved path that makes both the tee pad and a decent portion of the fairway. There are several holes on this course that use portions of the walking path as a tee pad, and many locations where an inconsiderate golfer could endanger other park users. I encountered the woman from hole 1 a couple more times during my round as our paths through the park intersected, and I waited on another tee pad for a family who was enjoying the wetlands to move on from the green of hole 11. This area of the park doesn't seem to get overly busy, and since the course has been in the ground for about a decade, I suspect there have been few incidents of conflict, however the layout is less than ideal in this regard.
Beyond the tees, of which those off the walking path are a perfectly serviceable Astro Turf like pad, the equipment at this course is very good. The DISCatcher baskets catch well, and the tee signs are large and helpful. I enjoyed reading the trivia on each sign as I prepared for my next drive. Course navigation is not always intuitive. I went in the wrong direction once or twice, and even threw to the wrong basket once. This can mostly be avoided by referencing the course map and shouldn't be an issue on repeat plays.
The golf itself surprisingly technical and varied. To earn your birdies, you will need accuracy and an ability to have the disc finish left, right, and straight (though never over about 270 feet from the tee). There are water carries and a few sloping greens, though very minimal elevation change from tee to basket. I threw putters and mids on almost every hole, but definitely enjoyed hunting for birdies, even if I never felt overly challenged as an intermediate level player. The rough here can make finding even decent shots challenging, as some fairways are very narrow and foliage growing one to three feet above the ground can be present even in the putting circle. Fortunately, the short length of the fairways means you should have a pretty good idea of where your disc ended up. I was never searching very long for discs in the undergrowth.
This course seems to cater to an interesting skill level. The short length would look on paper to be well suited to beginners, however, the frequently tight lines required, and thick underbrush, could discourage new players. I did notice there were "junior" tees marked on many (all?) holes that shortened the fairways even further, definitely making the course manageable for young golfers. I had fun on my round but picked up a 2 on half of the holes, and I would expect players at a higher skill level to be bored by this course. I suspect recreational players with a decent command of shot shaping and disc control would have a lot of fun at this course. This is a very nice course, and between Black Bear, Shady Oaks, Rolling Knolls and a few others, there is a course for just about everyone in the area.