Pros:
Big Shunga will give you plenty of chances to throw for maximum distance. It's an 18 hole layout, and there are a few very long holes. Par is 59, and I was not close to shooting par. A birdie or two isn't out of the question, but they eluded me on this particular morning.
The park is really nice, and besides a walking path, a couple of trash cans and a few birdhouses there isn't much else except for those 18 disc golf baskets. There are some densely wooded areas and a bit of tall grass, but most of the park is grass with trees spread about sporadically. There is elevation change, significant on a couple of holes, but usually in the moderate to gentle range.
The distance was the main challenge to me on a lot of the holes. Even if I made a good drive, the second shot was not a layup to an easy par. A couple of the holes mixed in elevation nicely, along with large trees to eat up some airspace. I liked holes 2, 3, and 5 a lot on the front 9. They mixed all of these elements nicely with varied proportions. 2 is long and downhill (800 foot par 4), and there are a couple of trees that sit in the fairway as you near the pin. 3 is not that long, but it has a hard dogleg right with trees that make a window at the turn and a little bit of a dip in the terrain midway. 5 was my favorite hole on the course, a 633 foot par 4. It has a big drop after a tee shot from the top of the hill. The box has a corridor of thick trees and brush on either side in front of it for the first 35 or 40 feet. Leaving the tree tunnel the fairway descends the hill and turns to the right. You need to get right to avoid heavy rough at the bottom of the hill. If you make the turn correctly and get to the bottom, there are still a few big old trees to weave between as you cross the slightly sloped approach to the pin.
The back 9 has some good holes as well, my favorites were 12 and 17. 12 runs along the walking path on the edge of the park (684 feet par 4), and it is fairly flat. The fairway has clusters of trees to either side about halfway, and as you near the pin the tree branches come together in a thick canopy and lower the ceiling. 17 is the counter to hole 5. It is a 385' par 3 and uphill at a steep pitch. The tee is coming out of a tunnel of heavy brush and trees, and opens up as you climb the hill. The pin is tucked in behind a few trees and large bushes, in a spot that is not easily accessible if you're coming from the wrong angle.
There are a few holes that are good with enough trees to be interesting, like 13-15. Some are good because the basket is near a dicey area of rough, like 1, 6, and 11. A couple are mostly wide open and bland, but still have a tree or two, or distance and a little contour to the ground. Hole 10 has a tall pole and the basket is 5 feet up.
Cons:
There is no obvious tees, no signs, and some of the baskets have the wrong number on them. Look at the pictures, they give a decent idea of where you need to start each hole. If you go in with no map and no guide, you will leave confused and frustrated. The map has a few trees that are not there any more, several were cut down in the area where the baskets for holes 7 and 9, and the tee for 10 are.
The entrance to the park is even tucked in a spot you can easily overlook. The parking lot is in the middle of two office complexes, and there is a large boulder near the path to hole 1.
Other Thoughts:
Big Shunga is fun, but I wasted a lot of time studying the map, walking around and guessing where I should tee off from. Signs would make it so much easier to navigate, and concrete pads might push my rating up to a 4.
I think this had been a temporary course in the past, but the baskets are firmly set in place now. Surely worth checking out if you visit Topeka. If Lake Shawnee and Crestview had a really tough baby it would be named Big Shunga.
I shot a 66, with no birdies. I was mostly able to stay out of the heavy rough, but my mid range game was not setting me up with easy putts. I made par on the long ones, but two putted for bogeys on some of the par 3 holes. Maybe I'll go back and try again now that I'm slightly familiar with the layout.