Pros:
Just 5 minutes from many things to do in Altoona... eating, shopping, hangin' at the mall, etc. and just a few more minutes to another 9 at Valley View Park. About 5 minutes off of I99. In a nice neighborhood park with walking trails, a playground, picnic tables, etc. The course begins and ends close to the parking lot. Bathrooms on site.
Brand new Innova Discatchers. Nice, large, framed in rubber tees that were obviously given a lot of thought and laid very nicely. Simple but effective tee signs with hole #, par and distance. (If I'm not mistaken, the frames for the signs are made from school cafeteria trays and I think that's awesome!) Plus the signs are placed a couple feet in front of, and about 5 feet to the side of, the tees so they're totally out of the way. And they ALWAYS face the direction of the basket/fairway which is very helpful. Next tee signs are also now in place, although they look to be temporary.
(For comparison purposes for the following information, I throw RHBH about 325' off the tee on level ground.)
The holes are relatively short, ranging basically from 150' to 250', but are well thought out. #1-2 and #7-9 play basically level, through large hardwood trees. For the most part there is generous space between the trees, allowing for more than one path to the basket off of the tee. So off the tee there are straight , hyzer and anhyzer lines to try.
Holes #3-6, in contrast to the others, play through the woods on reasonably wide fairways and take advantage of the elevation changes on the property. The elevation change may not be "dramatic", but it is substantial. I found it interesting how the 4 wooded holes worked out. #3 is a downhill hyzer. #4 is an uphill hyzer. #5 is a downhill anhyzer. And #6 is an uphill anhyzer.
I feel that this would be a great beginner course, especially the more open holes. The wooded holes would be OK, too, but I would definitely recommend a spotter on the downhill holes.
I only needed putters and mid-ranges off of the tee and this worked out well for me as practice for my "short-ish" game. So if you need big bomb holes, or a great challenge, then this isn't the course for you.
Cons:
OK, the course is very short. There's nothing more to say about that.
Currently there are just single tees and baskets. It looks like there might be room to add some alternate tees which could definitely be a nice addition.
The wooded holes could provide the distinct opportunity to lose a disc without a spotter, especially the two downhill holes since they're both blind t-shots. I actually had to search for about 5 minutes to find my tee shot on #5 as it caught an early shrub at the dogleg and, instead of getting caught as I thought it did, it rolled about 75' down the hill and into the woods. The foliage wasn't fully in yet, and the leaves on the ground weren't bad, since it's Spring. I can see this becoming more of an issue in Summer and Fall.
The park wasn't very busy when I played, but even so, I still had to pause a couple times to allow other park-goers to clear the fairway. I could see the course getting congested when the park is busier. When it's busy, you would have to be extra careful to wait for other park users to clear the fairways, and to watch errant throws since the walking paths do run throughout the entire park.
Other Thoughts:
My favorite hole would probably be #2. It was just a fun little ace run anhyzer for me with a nice, beat in DX Aviar P & A. #6 took the most effort off of the tee as it probably gains 30' or so of elevation. #7 is just a classic looking golf hole. And I really like the way that the #8 green is kind of a funnel down to the basket from the front and right sides.
I enjoyed the course for what it was... a quick, practice round type course for me. It took me less than 30 minutes per 9 holes, taking my time and throwing multiple shots on several holes. Next time, I hope to get my 8 year old daughter, and maybe even my wife, to play with me. I don't think that it would overwhelm them in the least.
What I really like about the course is how it's like a mini-version of just about everything that disc golf has to offer, with the exception of any water hazards. It requires multiple types of shots, introduces you to both "field golf" and "woods golf" and gives you an introduction to elevation changes on a course.
Is this a destination course? Definitely not.
But is it worth playing if you have new people who you want to introduce to the game? Definitely yes.
And what if you want to work on your putter and mid-range approach game? Definitely yes.
Basically, if you're in Altoona it should be worth your time to check it out, especially with Valley View just across town, too. Even if you're at Canoe Creek, it's still probably worth the drive to check it out.
Enjoy!