Pros:
Ferrettie Baugo... That's one of the more entertaining course names I've heard so far. Not bland like "George Wilson" or a frat house like "Rum Village". And yet it was the one area course I hadn't played during any of my visits. I was missing out.
This was by far the best course I played in Michiana. I wanted so badly to find something to hate. I love listing "cons" on out of town courses and seeing how many "thumbs down" I can collect by offending locals (not many apparently). But I just can't hate this course. It has all that makes Rum Village and Ox Bow great, plus more.
Equipment: The baskets aren't new. They clearly aren't 30 years old either though. Despite being at least several years old and on a wooded course, they've held up pretty well. You have your bent baskets here and there, but they're in far better condition than one would expect overall.
The teepads are concrete for every hole and every position except for the red 8. That one is just marked.
Navigation: The navigation is straightforward and fairly simple. The first teepad is right at the parking lot with a map and a kiosk, and the 18 basket is there too. Every basket is located relatively close to the following teepad, and those that aren't obvious have painted bits of concrete in the ground that guide the player to the next tee. These are close enough to the basket that they can't be missed, so no basket tape is needed. I only found myself getting lost once, and that's because I didn't pay close enough attention to the aforementioned painted concrete.
Every hole has a post giving the distance and par. They kind of point you in the right direction too, but if you try to throw the wrong way from a tee please let me know so I can make fun of you.
Design: The design is where this course truly shines. It offers a tiny bit of elevation change due to the tubing hill. The shot down the hill for hole 10 is likely the signature hole on the course, battled closely by the 600' tunnel shot for hole 8. The designer utilized a large portion of the park while encroaching minimally on other activities. The only place that this happens at all is the shot across the road on hole 10. The course includes short technical holes, long open ones, and some fairly unique looks through the woods. The course offers short and long, open and technical, straight and turning, right and left turning, uphill and downhill... It really offers everything that I look for in a course. It's still not a "5", but it's a solid course and well worth a stop.
Probably my favorite part about the design is that it offers something for everyone. The blue and red tees are shared through most of the wooded shots, but the pars are different. So a new player can learn how to throw a disc in the woods without being hammered over the head with bogey after triple bogey. Then out in the open on a few of the holes you find multiple tees for red, white, and blue to keep challenging you. That said, the par isn't challenging to a high level player... But for the rest of us, playing under par from the reds is easy... Playing under from the whites is reachable... And playing under from the blues is possible on a day that it all goes right.
Cons:
Equipment: I already stated that the baskets were in good condition, but they could still use some straightening. It's on me, but I missed at least one putt because the skewed basket got in my head.
The teepads felt too short, and some weren't level with the ground. Plus they don't grip all that well. So a runup was risky at best. Many of the holes are too short to require a runup, but a 600' hole definitely needs a longer and grippier teepad.
Navigation: The only con here was the walkout from 12 to 13. It was marked on the concrete, but it was longer than I expected. A few of the longer holes through the woods would benefit from a sign too, so new visitors don't have to walk out the hole if they don't want to.
Design: No complaints here. I would have liked to have seen some longer holes through the woods (300+'), but it seems like that would probably mess with the flow of the course overall.
Other cons: The trash was a bit disturbing. Almost every blue tee has a trash can by it with the hole number painted on it, yet I found quite a bit of trash in the woods.
The par: Again. Third course in Indiana where I've played a course that sets its par too high. Hole 7 is 300' down a fairly open fairway, and they call it a par 4. It's great for driving one's score down, but come on... And then to call the 600' hole that follows it a 4? By Indiana logic, that one should be a par 17. And yes, I know that it's all about how many shots you throw overall and what your round was rated, but I still like being challenged to throw a course under par.
The cost... I'm a proponent for pay to play courses when the funds are used properly. This course is not in disrepair, the vandalism was low (other than someone named "Brionne" who allegedly aced every hole on the course...), and the grass was mowed, so no complaints about how the funding was used. $4 per round isn't that crazy either. But I still have to mention the price because some people do consider it a con. Keep in mind that season passes are cheap and well worth the investment if you're going to put in 10 or more rounds per year. (I hear that they'll charge an additional $4 for parking, but all the guy at the gate asked was what I was there for, and then for $4.)
Other Thoughts:
All in all, this course is a great one and easily my favorite in this area. It offers a little bit of everything that makes our sport great. It has enough to keep players of almost all skill levels coming back and being challenged. And playing the red tees is fun for players intermediate and above because it literally gives you a chance to play even lower than 18 down. I set my personal best par through an 18 hole course here, and I didn't even throw that well.