Pros:
Have you ever stopped in the middle of your round and thought, "I really wish there were some better signs here," or "I wish they had invested more in the accoutrements." If those were your thoughts, then you must not have been playing here. Magnolia Park boasts some of the best signs I have ever seen (including, as mentioned by other reviews, a sign for the practice basket, and if there was ever a time to italicize that would have been it), and full concrete tee pads on every hole.
This was my first time playing on a course with the Prodigy T1 targets. I thought they looked pretty fly, but I had some issues with them which I'll put in the cons section below.
I played this course solo with no guide, and had no real problem navigating it, or questioning which basket I was throwing to, even if there were a few clustered together.
I kind of liked the overall short length of the holes. There were some longer ones to stretch your arm out, but overall there are plenty of chances for an ace out there.
Cons:
But I do think some of the distances are lying to you. There are a couple places where there's two tee positions, and even if they are only 5 steps apart, the distance on the map will report a 60' difference. Please excuse my skeptical side-eye.
The concrete tees were painted an intriguing burnt orangish color, which I liked, except even though the tees were dry, I was still slipping because of the wetness of my shoes. Just the damp grass made my shoes slick enough to slide on the paint. At that point you're getting more grip throwing on the grass.
The T1 baskets are beautiful. My only complaint was on my third hole it spit out a putt that was dead center high from 7' away. As soon as I saw that putt fall to the ground I stood there, mouth agape, my dad laughing at me, and couldn't believe it. I understood why I hadn't seen these targets around much. And since this review is about the course, not the targets, I'll just move on. Just wanted to tell that story.
My biggest complaint by far is the design. When you stand back and look at the park, it's wooded enough to where you feel like there's a good course out there. But these designers did not find it. Most of the park's trees are not used thoughtfully, or really involved on the majority of the holes. On the few where they are it is still not in a way that carves out challenging yet intentional fairways, it's just a "throw and pray" type of hole. One hole even has you throwing through some playground equipment, a HUGE "don't" in the tenets of course design. There were some good holes, but I really just walked away feeling like this park did not meet its potential in the course it could have offered.
Other Thoughts:
If this course had invested as much in design as it had in tee pads and signs, it probably could have been a 4 disc course. Right now, it's probably just under a 3, but distracts you with flashy bells and whistles, hoping you don't realize the true substance of the course is rather monotonous and uninspiring. There are plenty of courses in Lafayette to keep you entertained enough to avoid driving down if you're passing through on i12, or to just play every once in a while if you're a local.