Pros:
Hey kids. Your mom was wrong. It's ok to play in the trash.
- Fun Junktion is one of the more interesting layouts I've played. Installing a short pitch and put course on top of a landfill mountain with a backdrop of more landfill. Thankfully, I played when I was not downwind.
- The signs at the front of the park say it closes at 7. I showed up at 5:53. The worker on duty said it closes at 6:30 (to be fair it was a Friday night and I'd want to get out early too.). Let's just say I was back in my truck, having played a full round, at 6:16.
- 18 baskets (ok, 17) on a 2900-foot layout with overlapping fairways. The entire 'course' takes up four acres. There are, I think, five trees in this whole field. And with those limitations, I say it wasn't that bad.
- I do like the raised hill, aka trash mountain, aspect of the course. You've got to climb the hill with your upshot on #1 to get to the course. From there, you're on the enclosed portion of the hill for the remainder of the course, with the exception of a slight reprieve for your teeshot on #5.
- There are several other baskets and tees playing up and down sides of the hill, giving an added level of challenge/variety.
- Many holes have little to no challenge, essentially short field shots.
- The real challenge on this course is the rough and its waste high (or taller) grass. I get the penalty for sailing wide on a wide open fairway. I don't get the logic when your 'fairway' is five feet wide. More on that below.
- Lots of ace runs. This course's true calling is to host ace race events. I'm guessing the ace pot for singles never gets above $10.
- In concept, this is a great course for kids and new players. The concern, again, is having a player getting scratched up walking through the rough with their very first shot on #1.
Cons:
I am going to contradict myself. I'm acknowledging that. So deal with it.
- The thick, tall rough is the a great feature and the worst aspect of the course. I understand and appreciate its purposes, but I also hated it.
- I played 18 courses (many were 9 holes or less, so it's not AS impressive) in 33 hours on a two day marathon trip. This trip included playing all three Lake Marshall courses. I got more scratched up walking into the rough three times here than I did every other course combined. I think my shots landed a combined 30 feet off the fairway, so it wasn't even THAT much hiking through the rough.
- Basically, some of the fairways need to be wider. The fairways on #17 & 18 aren't wide enough for two people to walk side by side. At least clear out a larger, circle two area around the baskets.
- If your discs lands in the rough, even a bright pink disc, it isn't visible until you're almost right on top of it. And with a lack of landmarks or anything to help you pinpoint where your disc landed, even covering a 50 square foot grid is enough to scrape up your legs.
- Some tee signs are missing. As is one basket.
- For a short, simple layout, there are several blind-ish tee shots. Throwing uphill on #1, you can't tell where your disc lands. I was 20 feet from the basket, but I was in the thick stuff because I was short. The same issue is on #5.
- With multiple baskets visible on nearly every hole, better signage is needed as to where you're throwing. I threw to the wrong basket twice, not realizing the actual basket was down on the side of the hill. Also, I most likely threw my tee shot from the wrong spot at least once. Oh well.
Other Thoughts:
For as flawed as Fun Junktion is, it's really not too bad. There are positives to like while fixing the problems.
- I actually think this might be a money making layout. If disc golf were to ever have a Top Golf type of venue, this is it. Let people carry two discs and a beer during their round. Make it a short, simple layout. And have people making 18 straight runs at the basket. You'd just need to space things out more. But, this is the format for appealing to the masses.
- This course would be much better if the baskets had large visible hole numbers on top of each basket. Large orange or pink markers with the numbers on them would be visible from the tees. It's easy and would be so helpful.
- There was actually a fair amount of elevation factor here. Throw in a little cross wind and it's not as easy as first appears.
- I would actually play here again. It's such a different layout that it's intriguing. After playing Lake Marshall's three courses earlier in the day, I needed something that was easier.
- Maybe the course would be less appealing during the day when the landfill is more active. For an early evening round, who knew a landfill could be peaceful?
- It's not great. But it's not as bad as expected. It's solidly mediocre. An enjoyable 1.5 in my book.