Pros:
Hole Design. This course places a premium on positioning and hitting landing zones. Even the most wide open holes have trees, slopes, lights poles, or water hazards that necessitate good shot planning. Several holes have key choices to make off the tee or on approach that allow for different routes to the basket.
Variety. This course has two true par 5 holes, seven par 4 holes and also some short ace runs (total distance 8318 ft, par 65). The holes are put together in an interesting order that makes for a challenging round and creates a good flow. Generally the back nine is more wooded than the front nine, but there are exceptions on both sides. There are no simple, wide-open holes (though a few may appear that way from the tee box); all require the player to maintain focus.
Pin positions. Every hole has something interesting about the basket area that requires good planning on approach shots. Many baskets are located on or near slopes or water. Some are protected by guardian trees.
Signage. Clear, well-placed signs on each hole with accurate distances and descriptive maps that show both long and short tee boxes. Informative directional signs pointing players to both the red and blue tees for the next hole make the course easy to follow. There is one fairly long walk between holes 2 and 3.
Tee Pads. Good-sized, new, level concrete pads on each hole. We played the long tees and all but one of the tee pads was oriented in the best direction. A nice, level, roomy runway is a good way to start each of these challenging holes.
Other Park Amenities. The course is in a very large city park with many activities available, including multiple playgrounds, a swimming pool, and sports fields for soccer, football, baseball, and softball.
Cons:
Most of the baskets appear very old and many of them are set very low in the ground. It can be discouraging to fight the wind for 900 feet to get into the circle and then have to putt at a basket that is the wrong height. Also, the low baskets create an illusion that the basket is farther away, which can cause added difficulty for approach shots.
Sections of the course play near sidewalks and through areas of the park that are used for a variety of other activities (although none of the holes play directly through ball fields or playgrounds). We encountered fishermen, bicyclists, walkers, and soccer players during our round and had to wait on these other park users several times. I can imagine that this would be much more of a problem on a busy weekend day.
Other Thoughts:
Several sections of this course are out in the open, with no shade. We played on a 64-degree day, but I am sure that it would be very hot out there on those holes in the Texas summer. Those holes are also the most exposed to wind, so this course provides lots of opportunities to work on maneuvering discs through the wind.
Overall, this is a challenging course that makes the most of the natural features of the property and provides a test of all-round disc golf skill, requiring distance, accuracy, focus, and forethought. John Houck is excellent at using the property he is given to create great courses with character and variety. He has done it again here. This is not his best course, in my opinion, but it is just about the best that the trees and topography here allow. I recommend this course if you have the time for a long round and you are ready to be tested as a golfer.