Pros:
Boasting 18 teepads, the Fayette City Park course masquerades as a full course. With only nine baskets and the utilization of similar fairways on most holes, this layout seems like a nine-holer with two teepad options, one of which is just a bit more difficult.
One of the best aspects of the Fayette course is the use of the hilliness around the park. The course is moderately hilly and the layout includes a couple of valley-type holes and several baskets which are placed in a spot where one can't just ignore the positioning. The entire course plays on grass, rough is nonexistent and there are never more than a handful of trees per hole. One user described the course as a "fun, open layout with just enough obstacles to make you think about your shot."
The course winds clockwise around the park and while there are softball fields, sidewalks, a splash pad and other park facilities, the layout does a good job of not interfering with these areas. Navigation is fairly straight forward, though it's not apparent from a distance which teepad is the "front nine" or "back nine" option. The signage is faded and tough to read on some holes.
The baskets are Titan Pro-24 Targets and seem to catch well. Also, there are two possible basket locations for each hole, so there is some variety available if you visit at different times.
Cons:
The chance of losing a disc at Fayette City Park is above average. There is a pond on both holes #1/10 and #9/18. Only Hole #18 goes over the pond, but Hole #1 is close to the water's edge, and Holes #9 and #10 require more technical lines where a tree hit could result in dunking your disc. The mandos on these holes increase the challenge and eliminate the super-safe route to avoid the pond.
The listed pars are generous, with a suggested par of 63 for the 18-hole variety, which includes seven par-4s and one par-5. In reality, intermediate players and above should probably play every hole as a par 3. None of the holes are over 400 feet. The two longest holes, #14 and #18, are 384 and 360 feet, respectively, and both play downhill for most of the hole. In fact, the most challenging hole to snag a 2 on might be Hole #3 in the long position – it was listed as a par-5 because it's gradually uphill with a row of trees to navigate, including a couple trees that significantly block the straight line to the basket. If any hole at Fayette City Park had to be a par 4, I'd start with this one.
Not much variety in distances. Most of the holes are in the 200- to 300-foot range, with several holes longer and the Hole #2/11 being the sub-200-feet ace runs on the course.
Hole #7/16 features a downhill throw with a couple enormous trees in the way. Players will have to get creative with their drive to surpass these towering timbers – roller, skip shot and extreme forehand are all options to consider.
The splash pad is just uphill from the Hole #6/15 teepads. When I last played, there was water runoff pooling on part of the Hole #6 teepad.
Other Thoughts:
Fayette City Park does an adequate job of offering a city park course and adding some variety with multiple teepads and basket locations. That said, with the exception of the pond holes, the layout isn't very interesting, and several of the holes could be described as boring.
I struggled with what to rate this course considering the "is it nine or 18" question. The current DGCR rating of 3.30 with five reviews is definitely too high. In the end, I'm scoring it as an ordinary nine-holer without major flaws but also lacking anything special.