Pros:
+ Practice basket, lost and found and welcome map all nearby parking and hole1.
+/- All long and short tees are solid, wide and long slabs of concrete topped with turf.
+ New baskets have built-in 'next' arrows. Navigation is a breeze here!
+ Both sets of tees have their own well-illustrated and clear tee signs.
+ Fairways clean, and OB is well marked with stakes, but...
Cons:
- ...There is some nasty rough seen here.
- It is overall pretty flat.
- Many of the holes are straight forward and direct.
- Mud, I guess? (Not from experience.)
Other Thoughts:
It is so refreshing to play a course like Tranquility Trails.
I have to respect a course that focuses so strongly on its infrastructure. At Tranquility, it is consistently presented better than many courses I've played so far. The tee pads, signage and baskets are identical from 1 to 18. It feels like the designers and maintainers are serious about making this place the best that it can be, and the effort shows.
A lot of that effort is seen in the fairways. It's kind of funny to look at this course in satellite view because you can clearly see many of the lanes carved out of the forests and fields. About a third of the course plays in wide open pollenation meadows. Unmistakable fairways are implanted there with dozens of bees going about their business. The fairways in the woods are also nicely established. Hole4 was my favorite one to look at because it was a pleasantly framed fairway with a gentle slope to the terrain and a healthy covering of woods. Right after that, hole5 was my favorite to play. A continuation of the pretty wooded area from hole4 sends the player slightly uphill before throwing a surprise valley finish at the end. Woods and elevation working together are the quickest way to this disc golfer's heart.
Flat and wide-open holes, however, make my heart bored. Holes6-9, 15 and 16 are nicely maintained established but dull from my perspective. To my mind, hole15 was the most boring example. More than six hundred feet of straight-ahead wide open throws with tall grass on both sides? Boooo....
But to be honest and a little bit hypocrticial, I'm glad that those open air holes are there. If those holes were just more woods, I would probably complain about 'sameyness' instead of the wide open nature of those holes. So at least they are trying to inject variety into the layout with those fairways. I suppose there is nothing to be done about the elevation, but maybe planting a few trees here and there would benefit the course and wildlife?
Within the wooded holes, there are some spots of tremendous undergrowth and rough in the form of thorns, grabby shrubs and so forth. I remember holes10 and 11 having a lot of it, but it can be found in most parts of the course. I suppose it can be argued that those are actually features of the course to act as consequences for bad throws. But, surely, a bad throw is itself already a consequence. Do I really need to then be stabbed in the arm by thorns just because my midrange glanced off a tree?
It's a nice piece of land, though. A walk through here is enjoyable and free of any major noise. Strolling through peaceful woods is a sort of therapy for the disc golfer. Those tall grasses that I mentioned eariler are a double-edged sword for their pleasant & secretive environment but If upkeep were to be ignored, even for just a few weeks, the grasses would run rampant and render those open holes unpleasant to play. A few of the holes have nice views of Raccoon Creek. It was a nice surprise to see it at the end of hole7 and presented a constant threat in the back of my mind during holes10 and 11. I am absolutely sure that this makes for some soggy grounds after rain or snowmelt. I didn't experience that in mid-September 2022, but just keep it in mind if the local weather has been nasty lately.
Bottom line: While not the most engaging course around, Tranquility Trails is a good time in a good area with good fairways and good infrastructure. Competently put together. Recommended.