Pros:
Edwardsville is a nice, casual course in a small but nice park with easy navigation, ample parking, and a few kinds of challenging holes. Tee signs and baskets are mostly in good shape, there's some danger to get into with woods and creek, and plenty of room to try different lines since the trees are usually off the fairway (on the other side of a walking path). Hole 8 can be used as a practice basket, and there are arrows on each basket pointing you toward the next tee.
Most of the course is decent for beginners: no crazy elevation or tight lines, just a 250-foot-ish shot to the basket. There's some variance in distance, and 7 is much longer and requires a full-power shot from even advanced players.
The two water holes provide some challenge, namely hole 4, which has a gap that must be hit a decent distance from the tee. There's no real layup line or safe route like there is on 6, making it a real risky shot regardless of how you choose to throw.
Cons:
Holes 4-6 are the real downer of this course. 4 and 6 play across a rather large and deep creek, and the trees that grow along the sides of it can really knock down discs. Anything that goes in isn't coming out. Really, the lines shouldn't be hard to hit (and hole 6 is only 150 feet) but you need something that flies straight - which beginners won't. To get across, there's a bridge, but on hole 4, you're walking down the entire fairway of 5 to get to the green. The grass isn't very well kept up over there either, and there's a warehouse or something adjacent to that part of the course which lessens the park feeling.
Everything else is mostly medium to short distance and rather open and flat. The trees vaguely prevent left-to-right shots on some holes, but there's still plenty of room to work with. Hole 9 plays across the road into the park.
As a result, there's really no level of experience or skill set this course really caters toward, and not many people who will have a fun time playing this entire course. While I like bringing the treelines and creek into play, the course shouldn't play over the creek. Instead, there should be maybe two holes on the other side of the creek.
Other Thoughts:
There are some parts of the ground that have a bit of standing water, and when I was there, the grass was slightly taller. However, this isn't a problem because the course wisely stays away from those areas, so if your disc goes there, you're the one doing something wrong.
If you don't want to throw over the creek, you can still play a nine-hole course. Play from hole 4 to hole 6's basket, then cross the bridge and play from your own tee location to hole 4's basket (basically throwing down 5's fairway). Otherwise, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 are the same. This version is technically less exciting than the official layout, but at least it makes more sense for beginners and reduces the long walk issue with current hole 4.
The tee sign of 9 is missing, but the post is still there and the arrow on 8's basket points toward it, and the basket is easily seen.