Pros:
+ The course is set within a large and quiet county park. There are expansive meadows and some very tall trees.
+ Detailed tee signs at every hole show a map of the hole, the distances to the pin and the pars.
+ The fairways are super clean. There is almost zero overgrowth/undergrowth thanks to the beds of pine needles covering the ground.
+ Tons of wide-open spaces to get some great distance on your drives.
+ Flat, strong and sturdy paver tee pads at the green tees.
+ Most of the holes have visible and reliable next tee signs.
Cons:
-The player never feels truly immersed in the experience. One can see service roads, picnic tables, maintenance buildings, and/or playgrounds at all times.
- This course is overwhelmingly flat except for a few feet downhill at 3 and a gentle valley at 18.
- Flat and wide-open holes make up the majority of this course, which can feel dull.
- The tee signs mentioned earlier are only present at the green tees and not the white tees.
- The white tee pads are not as sturdy. They are made of somewhat neglected rubber.
- Some of the 'next tee' signs are not facing towards the basket!
Other Thoughts:
My favorite hole at this course is eighteen because it covers everything that the course has thrown at you in one final test of a hole. Slight downhill, stream OB in the middle, road OB alongside the left, slight uphill and then finishing among some guardian trees.
My least favorite hole here could be any one of the many monotonous wide open field holes that this place has. So I'll say hole ten because it has the fewest trees to deal with.
As for the course as a whole, Ocean County Park, referred to as 'OCP' by disc golfers in New Jersey, is a great training ground to develop a player's drive. Most of the holes are wide open swaths of land that dare you to fling your farthest, and it can be fun to see how far you can get.
This, of course, means that the course can feel rather dull and repetitive. When a player can clearly see the pin from 500+ feet away with no obstacles in the way until the final few yards, it can feel like a chore to pick up and throw two or three more times before finally reaching the circle.
Thankfully, that monotony is offset by a peppering of holes that involve trees from tee to pin. These are welcomed breaks from the parade of fields, but they are short-lived and, if I can be honest, not very fulfilling. Players who enjoy the kinds of tactical approaches that wooded holes can provide will find their brevity a bit underwhelming. The toughest wooded hole on offer, 16, is an elongated tunnel of 437 feet. Experienced players should have little trouble with it.
Still, it is good to see some variety within the course instead of the same thing from 1 to 18. It seems to me that the course designers clearly understood what they were working with and plotted the best course they could through the park.
Obviously, I would recommend this course to those players who like to air out their shots. The white (long) tees on roughly half the holes usually add even more distance if you like even more challenge. Just be cautious on those rubber tee pads.
Speaking of caution, this is the kind of park that will have people walking around and picnicking during the warmer months. None of the tables or walking paths are uncomfortably close to the throwing areas, but it's something to keep in mind. Also keep in mind that Canada geese love to use these fields as feeding grounds. Simply put, there are dropping all over the place in the open areas.
Despite my criticisms, I don't mean to imply that this course is bad. OCP is not a bad course. The baskets are in great shape, the green tee pads are excellent, the fairways are very well maintained, and the wide open fields, plain as they are, offer nice views of the pleasant park around you. There are even raised horizontal tree trunks to act as benches at each hole. Everything that a very good disc golf course needs is found here. It's even got bathrooms, pre-made scorecards and trash bags at hole 1.
Its enjoyment and difficulty are not found in avoiding obstacles but by reaching as far as you can with your strongest throws, and this course has more than enough space to accommodate that.
Bottom line: OCP is where you want to go to try out those far-flying discs. It's got the space to contain the farthest gliders yet has no undergrowth to chew it up just in case you end up losing control of one. The few wooded holes there serve to break up the action just enough to make everything else feel fresh and interesting, even if they are just as flat as the open holes. So, go to OCP and see how far you can throw!