Pros:
- Good signage, easy to navigate.
- Pretty good baskets.
- Very good paving-stone tee pads.
- Great practice course.
- Rarely crowded.
- Restroom (portable, better than nothing).
- Kiosk with map, score cards.
- Nice meadow setting.
- Friendly locals, atmosphere.
Cons:
- Completely flat.
- Can get very wet, swampy.
- Grass sometimes waist high.
- No benches.
Other Thoughts:
The setting for Juel Park is a large open meadow surrounded by trees and bushes with a small cluster of tall firs near the middle. It was once someone's homestead/farm that was donated to the city of Redmond. If you're wondering why the neighboring forest at the south end isn't incorporated into the course the answer is: it was at one time, three holes were in there, but there's also a salmon spawning stream in there, so it was redesigned for the salmon.
I play this course a lot (it's near my work), almost every week for the last 2 years under all conditions (just logged my 101st round). Interesting to see all the bad press it gets here in the other reviews, especially regarding its sogginess, you'd think it's a marine park or something. In truth, it's very flat and doesn't drain well so it has varying degrees of standing water on it about half the time, mostly in the winter. The greens on holes 4 and 9 become ponds at times. When this happens: wear waterproof footwear and you'll be fine. I've had plenty of fun games, and the course to myself, splashing along in hiking boots. Even played it in the snow a few times last February. That was the worst I've seen it, with ice covered tees, especially at the shaded south end where the snow just lingers. When it's not wet the other concern is the tall grass in the meadow, where it's easy to waste a lot of time searching for discs even when you saw right where it went. Starting in the Spring the fairways and greens get mowed weekly but the meadow only gets cut once a year in mid-July. So the best conditions are found from mid-July to about mid-October, although any heavy rain will still leave major puddles for a few days.
Nonetheless, it's still a really fun course. It's very open, so it's a great place to practice your drives. For me, that means airing it out on almost every hole. For younger, better players there are 3 holes over 400' you can bomb on. Despite the general openness trees do come into play on most holes, so you still have to think about what you're doing. Hole 4/13 is the only one with no OB or obstacles to consider, just heave it 300' and see how close you can get.
It's a good course for all skill levels, I've seen everyone from beginners to seasoned pros play here (once played a round with a guy who was clearly very good, found out later he's a local pro, one of the best in the state, currently rated 1016). That's another thing I like about Juel: fun crowd, friendly people. Doubles on Wednesdays.