Pros:
Wonderful course in a very clean, well-maintained, county park. Hilly to say the least, Sioux Passage feels and plays like two separate 9-hole courses.
• Front is a nice, open, park-style course playing up and down across rolling hills. Elevation is significant on every hole, and figures more prominently on some pin placements than others. Opens design means you can take almost any route you want, but long and straight's all you need for most 'em. Just a smattering of trees to avoid on most holes - distance, elevation, and roll-a-ways are the greatest threats on the front. Trees are more significant on #8 and a force to contend with on 9. Many "fun for all" type of holes with low chance of disc loss
• Back-9 = front-9 on steroids: Bigger, bolder, badder, and better. Although it's still fairly open, I'd say holes 10 -18 shed that "nice, park-style" feel and the DG gets more serious, amping up the elevation and bringing trees and brush into play more prominently. Holes require more definitive lines than the front, over greater distances with more intimidating obstacles and OB, and can make you pay for missing your line. Long, humbling uphills and bag emptying downhills, rolling terrain, trees, and a couple of sweeping hyzers and annies... all combine to take things to another level. More fun and challenge for the intermediate and advanced player than the front.
• Equipment: Nice concrete tees, DGA baskets are all in great repair. Signs are basic but effective and graffiti free: hole #, distance to each pin placement, bolt shows current basket location. Signs don't show pin locations relative to tee, but most baskets are visible from the tee, so you don't need to walk too many fairways.
• Routing/Nav: Front flows very well. Back is harder to follow, but isn't really too bad, and the holes on the back are well worth the slightly choppy flow. The maps are pretty accurate. My only complaint is the schlep from front to back.
• Memorable holes: several...
#9 Rises sharply up from the tee pad with a tight line though a well-wooded alley to the open playing surface above - much more intimidating than the course had been to this point. It's a neat hole that hits you like a rude awakening after the previous eight.
#12 about 400' . . . u p h i l l
#13 Monster Ace Run back down the hill you just walked up. I don't care who ya' are, that's fun right there.
#16 Long, slightly downhill bomber with trees guarding the pin.
#18 Strong finishing hole, where a 2 stroke lead may not be safe.
• Aesthetics: Quite pleasant, but nothing out of the ordinary. Some tees attractively dressed up with nice stonework to fight erosion.
• Clean restrooms with running water near #3 basket, and across road from #'s1 & 9.
Cons:
Not without faults, but there's nothing glaringly wrong.
• Could use more holes that dare you to hold a specific line (long sweeping hyzers or annies) and/or a few more technical holes for better overall balance.
• Nicely mowed when I played, but tall, prairie grass defining fairwaiys on the back can swallow discs... at least they ruled it OB, which means it truly impacts the game.
• ¼ mile between front & back nine - who wants to drive to the back 9?
Other Thoughts:
If you like to bomb, then Sioux's for you. Favors distance over placement, especially the front, and even though I like short, technical courses, I can't list this as a con. Big arms should also do well on the back, but the back will make you pay for missing lines, whereas missing lines on the front can be painless. Wind can definitely be a factor here, especially given the distances and the amount of time it gets to work on your disc, so a wide range of stabilities can help.
One could make the argument Sioux Passage is really two different nine-hole courses: front and back are in completely different sections of the park (even have their own parking). They play quite differently and to different skill levels, with the front having little to no rough to avoid, and the back featuring some very significant rough, longer shots and more significant elevation. Nonetheless, it's listed as 18, and together, they provide a reasonably well balanced round.
All in all, I had a blast playing here. Front eases you in and the rolling terrain keeps it from feeling boring. Holes 1-9 are fairly well suited for beginners to intermediates and have a decent fun factor. 18 holes of this would be good to very good. The back made me very glad I stopped here, with more variety, challenge, and a few holes to make you think. 18 holes like this could be phenomenal... that's how I arrived at my rating.