Pros:
-DISCatcher baskets
-Tee signs & pads/markers
-Exposure to thousands of college students
-Some wacky 'urban' scenarios
-Night Play OK on holes 9-16 (only opportunity in SD?)
Cons:
-Long boring holes (with tiny tee pads) in fields of brush
-Tiny short holes (with infinite sidewalk tees) in high traffic areas
-Tee Signs in finger-breaking front-left corner of the tee pad
-Long walks between several holes
-On a college campus, so everything about it is inconvenient
Other Thoughts:
This campus course is the first of its kind that I have been exposed to. It begins in dusty, overgrown fields of weeds that skirt around the pristine athletic facilities, then works its way through a section of campus, and ends with two more random field holes.
This course has multiple personalities. The first segment through the brush was enjoyable enough on the first two holes, however it became repetitive quite quickly. The throws are flat (or slightly graded), and completely open. During our spring visit, some of the flowers were over 6 feet tall, and it was a miracle that we were able to find our discs. On a 550' hole, your perception of where the disc landed and where it actually landed can differ greatly, so keep an eye out because you wont be able to see your disc until you are standing on top of it.
Holes 6 - 8 are also open, but are not in a brushy area. These work their way around the track, so lighting may make them possible to play at night. The putting green on hole 8 is by far the most pristine putting green I have ever encountered.
After hole 8, you need to walk about 1/4 a mile up the hill to the campus proper. An open field shot next to a building leads you to the front area of campus, where several more holes exist. These holes are all pretty short and require no angling technique, so a putter is all that is necessary.
While I totally understand that exposure to the sport is awesome and I should appreciate it, holes just should not cross the main stairway into campus. Holes should not play across the main quad area of campus. Holes should not play across the OTHER main stairway into the area. Many of the ADA access ramps onto campus also had holes over them. We played through a very dead campus (sundown/night) and dealt with no crowd issues, but I can only imagine.
There was one pretty cool throw over a railing to a pin on a tiny green about 120 feet away. It was interesting because you had to elevate your arm enough to get it over the railing, but it was kind of lame because you were throwing the disc about as hard as you would throw a paper airplane.
After meandering through campus, should you feel like playing two more holes, you can walk through the parking garage and across another large parking lot to play the two remaining dueling fairways in an empty field. After finishing these holes, you are now just about a third of a mile from the beginning of the course.
I recommend parking in the garage if you play this course, as it is kind of halfway between the beginning and the end. Plus, if you don't feel like playing the last two holes, 16's basket is right by it.
Don't get me wrong, if I were a college student here, I would love the fact that I have a course right outside my class. That being said, it is not a good course, people should not be going out of their way to play it, and in a way, I think it may almost provide negative exposure to the possibilities of what the sport can be. However, I am always a fan of a good train wreck, so there was no way I could miss this opportunity.