Pros:
+ Long and wide sturdy flat tees made of pavers.
+ Tee signs are metal anchored to metal. The diagram and information are basic, but that's OK at such a short course.
+ A surprising amount of elevation and tree cover.
+ The baskets are numbered, but...
Cons:
- ...The baskets are hard to see, even if you're looking right at them, and they're a little old and rusty.
- There aren't any navigation signs, but a course this tiny can get away with that.
- A few of the fairways border one another and/or present danger to other park users.
- I don't think this is any longer an eighteen hole course.
Other Thoughts:
Let me address that last con right away.
There are only nine established tee pads, which is a signal. If they intended for this to be an 18-hole course, why stop at nine? They're nicely built tee pads, mind you. I was both surprised and impressed at how good they were at this unassuming 9-holer. Udisc doesn't even classify this place as an 18-hole course, by the way. Closeby a park bench I found a patch of dirt that had the number 10 on a post sticking out of the ground. Could that have been the first hole of the back nine? Maybe.
But there really isn't enough space at this humble community park to accommodate a full eighteen. The longest hole here is hole4's 275 feet, and even that felt a bit too big for this place. There are walking paths and a playground to worry about. Space is the biggest concern here. As a 9-hole course, it's good enough, but it would be a bad 18-hole course.
So as 9-hole courses go, I wasn't disgusted. I actually quite enjoyed playing holes5 and 6 because of their gentle woodsy challenge with their own elevation features. Maybe I liked 6 a little bit better because it was a tempting uphill ace run! And the view from hole8 was nothing spectacular, but it's neat to have a nice glimpse of the course as a whole atop a hill, modest as it is.
Modest. That's the perfect word to describe this course. Victory Park is exactly the kind of place that I imagine when I hear the phrase "short, but sweet." It's well put-together and takes place in a pleasant park. The short distances make for lots of ace runs and birdies. It is a great spot to introduce newbies or let the kids run around. Don't come here seeking a challenge, though. Come here to take a leisurely stroll. Just remember that it's actually just nine holes.