Pros:
Redesigned in 2011, Lakewood King County Park in Seattle plays through a moderately hilly and lightly wooded park with breathtaking views of the Olympics and Cascades. The installment of Lakewood 2.0 uses several of the preexisting holes with the addition of two new water holes, two tightly wooded holes, and one open hole with a guarded pin. The new layout plays easier than the previous layout due to length primarily, but creativity and thoughtful designing keeps this course interesting.
Pressured to relocate one third of the holes on the course due to the loss of land in the upper parking lot, Keith Lionetti had to completely redo the flow to the old layout in order to keep 18 holes. Starting now in the lower parking lot, Lakewood has also opened up Chainbangerz Pro Shop where they will sell some discs, merchandise, snacks, and drinks during the summer and fall. Three practice baskets were installed near the restrooms and gazebo as well, along with rock/cement benches and tee pads throughout the majority of the course. The flow, with the exception of a few walkouts, seems to work quite well considering the circumstances and the addition of the new holes are creative and at times challenging.
Favorite Hole/s:#9, #10, #14 (long), & #18
Cons:
Walkouts on holes #2 and #18 - Really can't avoid them as the designers did a tremendous job doing the best with what land they had.
Losing a disc in the water on holes #1, #4, #9 and #10 - Fortunately with Chainbangerz now on site, discs will get turned in to the shop for a small credit. Periodically there is a gentleman who goes scuba diving for lost discs and turns them in.
Installing tee signs/kiosk to help with navigation - currently being worked on through fundraising
Worst Hole/s: #13 (short)
Other Thoughts:
Keith and the Chainbangerz DG Club have worked diligently to install the course in time for The Calm Before the Battle (C Tier Dubs) and the Battle in Seattle (B Tier) that took place June 10-12, 2011. However, there is still some tweaking to do on the back nine and can't be finished until the city finalizes their plans to build around the course. Lakewood 2.0 has come a long way in a very short amount of time and I am blown away with its new appearance. This course is the perfect complement to its big brother course 9 miles south in SeaTac (near the airport).