Pros:
This course very well may not be a "championship level" course by any standards, or even a challenging course to play, but there are positives that this course has to offer.
Instead of trying to list off "pros" of this course, I will write about what I like about playing here.
One of the things I really enjoy about this course is the absence of other players on the course most of the time. Many times I will come out and be the only person on the course. That is a positive to me because there isn't any pressure from people coming up behind and it doesn't feel crowded with people on all the other holes. This course is a good place to work on various shots without having to be overly concerned with losing discs and it offers enough variety so that you can work on different lines (anhyzers, hyzers, ect.ect).
It is a relatively easy course to play, but still has O.B. on multiple holes so if you are not careful you can find yourself out of bounds by throwing too far or missing your line. It is also a good place to work on your "wind game", because it is almost always windy on holes in the big field (#1-#4, #8,#9).
The island hole (#4) is a favorite of mine, its easily reachable with a well thrown putter or midrange, but being slightly down hill and the out of bounds only about 40 feet to the left of the basket you can easily find your drive drifting O.B. and if you end up to the right of the green, you are left with a longish downhill putt that has the danger of skittling onto the paved path if you miss your putt.
The tee signs have been replaced recently and they are nice because it is a picture of the hole with flight lines to the basket in the picture. they have the distance clearly labeled as well as the par for the hole and the O.B. if there is any for that hole. When the grass is mowed, it is a pleasant place to play and is easy on the eyes. When the grass isn't mowed.........well that will be in the "cons" section.
It is only about 5 minutes away from the Woodland Creek course and is a stark difference from the tight wooded holes at Woodland Creek. So it makes for a good 18 holes by playing 9 at each of the courses. Many times you can run into one of the Monks that live on campus in the Abbey, his name is Father Peter. He is a very welcoming and friendly guy to talk with and play a round or two with.
The course is pretty clean, and I have only ran into trash a few times out here while playing.
Cons:
Here are some of things that I feel that could be better.
Parking! The closest parking lot is a "employee" parking lot that is closed to public parking Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm. the closest public parking lot is a lot over by the Pavilion building and that is about a 10 minute walk away from hole #1 through campus. not sure how it could be fixed, but it is what it is right now.
The lack of wooded holes is also a drawback for this course. There is PLENTY of forested areas around the course area that could have some great potential for holes. Hopefully the University will choose to expand the course to a full 18 holes in the future and utilize some of the wooded areas for future holes.
The course is just not exciting to play if you are looking for a good challenge.
Hole #2 is very close to Hole #1, If you have an errant tee shot on hole #2 you will most likely find yourself on either Hole #1's fairway or having your disc flying in towards the tee pad of hole #1.
The University/Abbey has a NO dog policy. this isn't a huge "con", but I know that there are a decent number of people that do like to bring their pups out with them when they play.
The course could use more variety with holes, there is a slight amount of variety, but it would be better with more variety in hole design.
There is no "next tee" signs to show you where the next tee is. I have seen a good deal of people finish up on hole #4 and then just look around at where they are supposed to go next. Hole #5 is across the street and there needs to be some sort of signage to point the way. It can be a bit confusing for people that are playing there for the first time.
Other Thoughts:
This course was designed first and foremost for the students that attend the University and it is designed to be a easy course to play and for beginners.
That is also the reason why Hole #1 is not by the parking lot. Hole #1 is closer to student housing and by one of the buildings so that it is easy for the students to find and close for them to use.
while this course isn't difficult or challenging, it is a very good course for the type of course it was designed to be. That is a course that easy to play and is just plain fun to play as well, and something for the students to do with their free time.
If you are looking for somewhere to go to get some good uninterrupted field practice in or windy putting practice, this is the place to go in the greater Olympia/Lacey area.